Those best programmers you ever met; Was their first introduction to programming in university?
The single very best programmer I've ever known was self taught. He went part way through a CS program and dropped out but that was after he was already the best I've ever met. Incredible skills. Software that worked. Incredible productivity. Across different languages and technologies.
Rarely have I met someone who didn't have interest in software and computers before university (e.g. as a kid or teenager) be a really great software engineer. I've met many who took CS or Engineering because it's a good profession, they can make money, and have no passion or particular aptitude.
In my opinion the best mix is a combination of self taught and some formal schooling. Passion, aptitude and education. You can learn the formal stuff on your own but it's harder to do.
All of us software engineers are self taught. The stuff we do is generally not taught in university. I have a CS degree but 99% of what I do is not that. That's not to say formal education in CS and various related areas is not useful. In some specific software engineering jobs perhaps more so than others.
The single very best programmer I've ever known was self taught. He went part way through a CS program and dropped out but that was after he was already the best I've ever met. Incredible skills. Software that worked. Incredible productivity. Across different languages and technologies.
Rarely have I met someone who didn't have interest in software and computers before university (e.g. as a kid or teenager) be a really great software engineer. I've met many who took CS or Engineering because it's a good profession, they can make money, and have no passion or particular aptitude.
In my opinion the best mix is a combination of self taught and some formal schooling. Passion, aptitude and education. You can learn the formal stuff on your own but it's harder to do.
All of us software engineers are self taught. The stuff we do is generally not taught in university. I have a CS degree but 99% of what I do is not that. That's not to say formal education in CS and various related areas is not useful. In some specific software engineering jobs perhaps more so than others.