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The way I like to think about it is this: a student that goes to baking or cooking school isn't going to be a better candidate if he/she doesn't bake on his/her

The way I like to think about it is this: a student that goes to baking or cooking school isn't going to be a better candidate if he/she doesn't bake on his/her own time. I would probably hire a self-taught baker that bakes on his/her own time over a formally-trained student of baking who doesn't bake on his/her own time. However, a baker that is formally trained and bakes on his/her own time is going to be quite formidable to the self-taught baker. That's the same way I view developer candidates with respect to those with and without a CS background. The weakest candidates don't hack on their own time.

MisterBastahrd 11y ago
Bad analogy. The school-taught baker will almost always stomp the crap out of a self-taught baker. There are things you just can't learn at home, and how to bake at volume is one of them.
- jasonjei 11y ago
  OK, how about self-taught cook? I've seen a number of restaurants opened by those without a formal cooking school background, but the common thread is working from restaurant to restaurant. I have a friend who was picked up by Alice Waters and is a sous chef at Nopa having cooked at Chez Panisse for years despite the lack of a formal cooking school background.
  - MisterBastahrd 11y ago
    Then it invalidates your previous example. There's a difference between someone who gets vocational training on the job and someone who just decides they can cook well at home so they deserve to be a chef. Learning at home can't replicate scale or timeliness. There's no substitute for a live kitchen, and all cooking / baking students spend PLENTY of time in live kitchens before they graduate.
    - jasonjei 11y ago
      I'm sorry my initial analogy wasn't clear. When I meant self-taught, I met on the job vocational training as well as personal time devoted to pet projects. Hopefully, with the clarity added, you will find my analogy better.

MisterBastahrd 11y ago

Bad analogy. The school-taught baker will almost always stomp the crap out of a self-taught baker. There are things you just can't learn at home, and how to bake at volume is one of them.

jasonjei 11y ago
OK, how about self-taught cook? I've seen a number of restaurants opened by those without a formal cooking school background, but the common thread is working from restaurant to restaurant. I have a friend who was picked up by Alice Waters and is a sous chef at Nopa having cooked at Chez Panisse for years despite the lack of a formal cooking school background.
- MisterBastahrd 11y ago
  Then it invalidates your previous example. There's a difference between someone who gets vocational training on the job and someone who just decides they can cook well at home so they deserve to be a chef. Learning at home can't replicate scale or timeliness. There's no substitute for a live kitchen, and all cooking / baking students spend PLENTY of time in live kitchens before they graduate.
  - jasonjei 11y ago
    I'm sorry my initial analogy wasn't clear. When I meant self-taught, I met on the job vocational training as well as personal time devoted to pet projects. Hopefully, with the clarity added, you will find my analogy better.