This is a good point. In my youth, I did not pursue the opportunities (Microsoft, Google, Amazon) I had for various reasons. Turned out, this was a bad idea. However, the &quot;take home&quot; coding interview has turned out to put me heads and shoulders above the rest. There has only been one take home interview that I have not done well on, and that is because I was pressured for time - they told me I could take 8 hours, but I only had 1 to spare.<p>Because of this, I have had opportunities open to me that people would kill for and received an offer or interview almost every time.<p>My personal opinion is that these things do have their place, but they will likely find that only a few types of people will give this the time of day:<p>1. People who are bored<p>2. People who need a shortcut to a job interview<p>3. People who are diamonds in the rough<p>Out of these, only one type of person (3) will be greatly valued.