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Be mindful my statement was my opinion, not factual. I am completely aware there are people screwed over a lot more than software developers, and I know how for

• webmaven 10y ago
  "fairly unique" is one of those annoying phrases that parses to meaninglessness. Either something is unique or it isn't, there aren't degrees of uniqueness (unlike, "creative", "special", or "new"). For comparison, while "really unique" isn't meaningless, the "really" is pointless and so still quite annoying. Perhaps you meant "fairly unusual"? I suspect that the emphasis on self-teaching is due in part to the pace of change in information technologies, and also to "rockstar" culture. The most useful and valuable technical skills are usually the ones for which there are no formal courses yet, and most businesses are reluctant to spend money (or employee time) on speculative investments which may not pay off (for the business or the employee). Meanwhile, the most valuable employees often disdain spending time acquiring skills that do have some form of formal credential or certification available, as those are inevitably going to be much less interesting and shiny. And so, non-rockstars (including junior folks) are left to fend for themselves (if they are lucky, a more experienced co-worker will point them in useful directions) even when formal learning options would be helpful to them.