It seems to me that the self-taught vs. CS degree distinction is missing the point: a point Peter Siebel made very clear in his chapter ordering for Coders at W

It seems to me that the self-taught vs. CS degree distinction is missing the point: a point Peter Siebel made very clear in his chapter ordering for Coders at Work. The people who outperform are people who love computers and hacking on them. Some such meet programming at University, more and more anyone who loves it will already know that before starting classes. The range on skill and experience in this field is too big to be near the top if it's just a job. It's fine to have it be a job, but that's a different persuit than aspiring to be a top hacker.