An interesting confounding variable might be that self taught programmers are likely to be influenced by a background in some other field. For instance, my degr

An interesting confounding variable might be that self taught programmers are likely to be influenced by a background in some other field. For instance, my degree is in physics, so I'm likely to "think like a physicist," if that's a thing. And I've chosen my battles well. My job is in an industry where understanding the workings of a product often starts with physics. Another variable may be that the training process and the people who go through it are perceptive of what matters to their careers. When I'm tempted to think that engineers "like" to do certain things, and not other things, it could be due to personal ability and preference, but it could also be an economic preference not to waste their time on things that I happen to "like."