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Mistakes Done By Self-Taught Programmers Where Formal Educators Have an Edge

Joseph Mania on April 01, 2022

Yes, I have seen some self-taught programmers going back to school in order to increase their chance of getting certain roles. Is there something t...
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Jon Randy πŸŽ–οΈ β€’ β€’ Edited

I have the say, I cannot relate to any of this.

Most of the best developers I've met are self-taught. You really don't need formal study, even to learn CS concepts... you can learn it all yourself

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Shai Almog β€’

Agreed. Pretty much none of those things are taught in University or College.

I think self taught developers are the best. Our profession requires constant update to our knowledge. This ability is core to a good programmer. Self taught developers are generally better at refreshing their knowledge.

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Joseph Mania β€’

Sure i agree with you

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Joseph Mania β€’

believe those are extra ordinary and few self-taught developers. Its only a small percentage that dive deeper to get the core concept of computing. But i do agree.

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Ben Calder β€’

For each of these points you could just as easily find an argument why those with formal CS education are at a disadvantage over self-taught developers. For example:

  • General Computer Science knowledge: limited in scope and often doesn't go deep enough into soft or design skills
  • Reinventing the Wheel: relying on existing and outdated libraries that don't take advantage of advances in browser technology
  • Not expanding their network: limiting their network to those in their field; so lacking in different perspectives

I'm not saying the above is true for all CS graduates; it's just to demonstrate the point. Both formally educated and self-taught devs bring different skills to the table. I get the impression that nowadays there's a focus on hiring people who have a formal education; but I think it's really important to hire from a diverse range of backgrounds: the result will be a flexible team with a broad range of skills who can find more creative solutions.

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Joseph Mania β€’

Thanks for your idea @ben Calder

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Joseph Mania β€’

Thanks for making it clear

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victorchukwuemeka β€’

Are you been serious

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Joseph Mania β€’

Am not really sureπŸ€—

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Joseph Mania β€’

Sure @luke

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Joseph Mania β€’

Hey Thanks for readingπŸ™„πŸ™„πŸ€£

 
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Joseph Mania β€’

🀣🀣

 
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Shai Almog β€’

Every is what you said. I didn't use that word. By definition self taught developers know how to learn on their own. So they tend to be better at that.