Mdthbs

Today I had a code review at a new position I started almost 3 weeks ago. I was assigned a task working with my company's own CMS and a senior dev was supposed to do the code review.

My employer joined in during the review. While we were reviewing we came upon some sloppy mistakes on my end. Nervousness has lead me to neglect some obvious things; I've been unemployed for a long time and this job is a life changer for me.

My employer was fairly upset and during the reviewing session openly mocked my education ("they must've taught you that") and my skills ("Do you not know that? Why do we have to explain this to you") also dropping the "well then I want to see your degree!". At first I was unsure if he was serious I have never encountered this before (due note I am a junior at my position).

Later that day I received a email reinforcing that he does in fact expect me to show up with my college degree. I am unsure how to handle this situation. I was fairly upset and angry at the time (did not act on it). It feels like a very rude thing to say/ask and I'm unsure if I should comply.

The team consists of my employer, 2 senior developers and myself as the recently joined junior developer. I know I'm still considered to be on trial period (first 4 weeks) and my employment contract can be annulled.

First time posting; Kindly let me know if I neglected any vital information or made any mistakes. Down voters please explain why.

Later that day I received a email reinforcing that he does in fact expect me to show up with my college degree. I am unsure how to handle this situation.

The easiest solution for this is that you just show them your degree.

If you indeed have it you have nothing to lose by showing it, and that will satisfy their requirement; everyone happy.

I then suggest you try to handle those nervousness mistakes, and be more cautious when delivering a project. It's ok, you were unemployed and now you are not. That's great! I think you can now start to take it a bit more calmly, so you can truly focus on the job you are doing.

My employer was fairly upset and during the reviewing session openly mocked my education ("they must've taught you that") and my skills ("Do you not know that? Why do we have to explain this to you") also dropping the "well then I want to see your degree!".

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone insist that you should have learned a certain topic in your degree program. Unless you took the same program with all of the same professors in all the same courses at the same time as that person, you can't possibly say for sure someone definitely should have this knowledge. While there are guidelines set forth by organizations such as ACM, computer science curriculum is not standardized at all. Also there are certain "core" computer science classes, but again not standardized.

Later that day I received a email reinforcing that he does in fact expect me to show up with my college degree. I am unsure how to handle this situation. I was fairly upset and angry at the time (did not act on it). It feels like a very rude thing to say/ask and I'm unsure if I should comply.

Degree verification typically happens BEFORE not after a new hire starts. An employer is free to verify your information after you start should they suspect you lied on your application. But say I did terribly at a code review so terribly you question whether I had a degree at all. I comply and produce my degree but what does it really achieve? I am still terrible at writing code.

At the end of the day, given that this is your first job after being unemployed for a while, it is in your best interest to comply with the request to verify your degree. But I question this employer's long term ability to coach you to grow in your knowledge and expand your skills.

I've been unemployed for a long time and this job is a life changer
for me.

and

It feels like a very rude thing to say/ask and I'm unsure if I should
comply.

These two sentences don't really fit together. What's your goal here: save your job or make some point on principle.

Make no mistake here: your job is in danger and if you care about this you should devote all effort to repair the damage and not complain about a simple ask (reasonable or not).

Here is why they are asking: If you don't have the degree or misrepresented it, it's the quickest way to get you fired on the spot.

What you should be doing is the following:

1. Show them the degree and any supporting data that is relevant (thesis, grades, publications) that show you in a positive light


2. Analyze how that bad code got written and plan what you will be doing differently to avoid any type of re-occurrence. How do you track requirements? What test methods do you use? What design patterns did you use and why did those not prevent the bad code, where they are any checklists or processes that you ignored or didn't work, etc


3. Then go to your boss. Acknowledge your mistakes, don't sugar coat them, don't make excuses, just acknowledge.


4. Present your analysis, what you have learned from the experience, and what your corrective plan will be.


5. Ask for feedback. Do they think the analysis is correct, do they have alternative suggestions and what and how do change?


6. Ask open ended "what else can I do to improve and make this up"

Your best chance to keep your job is to create a credible story that this was a one-time occurrence, that you learned from it, and that some corrective actions are already in place.

Making a fuzz about showing your degree is probably the worst thing you can do at the moment.

Verifying degrees is a normal, but optional, step when hiring someone. Employers obviously want to be able verify their employees have the qualifications they claim to have, and it is in the best interests of colleges and universities to make this process easy.

I have personally experienced organizations that required you to show up with your diploma on your first day and organizations that required verification through your educational institution's registrar before starting. This was simply a condition of employment and expected of everyone.

You should:

1. Produce your degree


2. Be more careful

Right now your boss is unhappy at you, and (as far as I can see) power-tripping at your expense. This is unpleasant, yes, but the fact is that he does have power over you, and you did screw up, in a way that disadvantages him. Practically, if you refuse to produce your degree, he'll have reason to fire you, and he probably will. Producing the degree, and suffering through the conversation around that, is, in effect, a minor submission ritual that you can use to placate your boss, with which you can ward off at least some of the unpleasantness. Things like this are often worth doing, when in situations like the one that you are in.

If you want to keep this job, show him your degree, even if it's a bit of hassle to get the thing.