> You can know how to program without being a professional programmer. Of course you can. You just… won't be a professional, and won't be held against professi

> You can know how to program without being a professional programmer. Of course you can. You just… won't be a professional, and won't be held against professional standards (minimum output & quality, that kind of stuff). That's okay. But if you're going to get paid for it, you ought to be better than a random self taught amateur. Though I suspect we aren't, in fact, much better than the average self taught amateur. That would be an indication that we still have progress to do.