Interviewing horrors

Of late I am learning to be immune to some insane answers to basic Java Question

Sample this conversation

VC(me): Hmm .. you have rated yourself as 9/10 in Java


candidate(Interviewee) : You know with 7 plus exp in Java J2EE I believe that I am good for 9


me : Fair Enough .. lets get on some tech questions starting with Java


candidate: OK


me : Can you explain to me what does System , out, println stand for in System.out.println()


candidate : ponders for a while and then says System is package , out is class and println is the method


me : (Oh ! this is going to be a long day ... )


Here's another from a different candidate when asked the same question
I have been working only with enterprise Java , I feel these concepts are not required


I am kind of learning to deal with such shocks with little or no expression on my face ..
My friends say that I am trying to be too polite but then
unlike them I believe in non-violence and these are not one -off cases, people are struggling to explain concepts like serialization, collection api...

My advise for people trying to get out of the rut .. or getting started ..

1. Decide if you want to pursue a developer's path or move to managerial. One way or the other .. don't ever ever get stuck in the middle


2. Code , code code and get the basics right .. Oh yeah think before you say 9/10