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I think one needs to be careful with statements like this. Is it the case that those who outperform tend to be self taught? Or that those who are self taught te
by jghn 1y ago
I think one needs to be careful with statements like this. Is it the case that those who outperform tend to be self taught? Or that those who are self taught tend to outperform?
I can easily see why the former is true. The latter seems a lot less likely.
- lokar 1y agoYou could pick from many attributes and find that “many” people with that attribute do better. Also, this (and other things I’ve read) always seems to argue against the strawman that “you need a formal education to do well in software “. I’ve never seen anyone say that (including during many years involved in hiring at big tech). The argument is that the pool of CS graduates are more likely to do well (and bigger and simpler to find) , so it makes sense to focus there if you need to hire a lot of people.
- fshafique 1y agoIs your opinion about the latter because the self-taught may not stay on task? As a self-taught person on a lot of different matters, I find myself exploring rabbit holes that expand my knowledge, but don't progress the task I originally started doing.
- 0xfaded 1y agoMy reading is that the statement wasn't an opinion either way, rather it was questioning whether survivorship bias needs to be accounted for. To your point though, I think it doesn't matter so long as you've learned to deliver business value. Application of broad and diverse skills may deliver value at a start-up for example, but wouldn't get too far at a ticket shop.
- jghn 1y agoThe point I was raising is that I don't think it's the self taught angle itself that is the causal factor. As an example, there's lots of things I'm self taught at but also terrible. However, someone who already has the talent to be really good at something and who has the inner drive and motivation to push themselves is someone who is likely to excel. So if you find someone who is excellent at something and self taught, it's not a surprise. They probably combined natural talent with a strong work ethic, and lots of exploration of the entire search space.
- pknomad 1y agoI agree that the title can use a bit of work. The author cites examples such as Linus and Margaret, but IIRC they studied CS and/or math as part of their educational upbringing... so I feel like they're almost counter examples of what the author is arguing for. It seems like the author is really championing the "self-tinkering engineer" as the outperforming engineer.
- 9rx 1y ago> The author cites examples such as Linus and Margaret, but IIRC they studied CS and/or math as part of their educational upbringing... What is studying if not self-teaching? But, semantics aside, Linus, at least, was programming long before he attended university, and his claim to fame was built early in his time at university. It is true that he "studied CS", but that came later. He is unquestionably self-taught in the area for which he is best known.
- bena 1y agoThere's probably some survivorship bias in here. Those self-taught engineers who don't even perform aren't going to be engineers for long. So of course you'll see a lot of self-taught engineers in the outperforming category, it's necessary for survival.
- empath75 1y agoIt could also be the case that you have to be better than average to even break into the industry as a self taught engineer.