Well I've had the pleasure of working with someone who started programming when they were 6, is proud that they did so, and seems to believe that all you need i

Well I've had the pleasure of working with someone who started programming when they were 6, is proud that they did so, and seems to believe that all you need is a belief that it can be done. Said individual was very good at delivering cut-and-paste work and "hacking" it so the page loaded from a straightforward database. But the first sign of a business requirement beyond this resulted in delay after delay, excuse after excuse and promise after promise. Eventually they were let go. The guy could talk the talk all day, and get the first week or even month of tasks done. But beyond that, a total failure, and on increasingly critical tasks. So, no, someone saying that they've been programming since they were 6 is not a useful indicator.