I recently composed an email for someone with a degree in mathematics but little experience with computers, outlining what they'd need to do to bridge the gab b

I recently composed an email for someone with a degree in mathematics but little experience with computers, outlining what they'd need to do to bridge the gab between their current position and someone with a degree or strong self-taught skills in CS. When I started I thought it'd be fairly short. It wasn't, and much of the difference wasn't theoretical CS stuff—it was "stupid computer shit". Tools, the command line, daemons, implementation details for a dozen key technologies, debuggers, and on and on and on. I think I'd underestimated how much all that time I'd spent futzing with DOS to make my games work, or playing with operating systems, or running a message board for my friends, and so on, had provided the foundation for my success as a developer. The hours weren't spent optimally, but they were spent in great quantity, and most people didn't grow up with that kind of running head-start into the industry. It's a giant hurdle to overcome.