Not even slightly. Cranking out widgets is something you can pick up in less than a day. After a few cycles of retooling for another product, you've had all the

Not even slightly. Cranking out widgets is something you can pick up in less than a day. After a few cycles of retooling for another product, you've had all the experience you need. A better analogy would be tradesmen. Apprentices worked under journeymen or masters for five or seven years before themselves becoming journeymen. A tradesman or craftsman works on projects or repairs, each one different from the last. The years of experience aren't all about banging a hammer against a chisel, or tightening nuts onto bolts. Those years of experience are about problem solving; functional problems and non-functional. Not only do I have to deliver the product requested with quality and budget and timing, but I have to solve all of the problems that have nothing to do with the product but everything to do with its delivery: What if it's really cold on one day and someone doesn't turn up for an important presentation? What if one of my tools breaks and I have to improvise? what if the product specification changes halfway and I have to figure out how to implement that (or reject the changes) without causing a fight? What if local regulations change mid-project? What if technology changes a year or two after I start, and I have to learn something new to keep up? These are the things an apprentice learns in seven years (for the last couple of thousand years), whether a plumber or a mason or carpenter. The best person to solve a series of such disconnected problems is someone who's been in the trenches and dug their way out. You don't get that from a book or from your bedroom.