It's not likely that a MIT CS graduate will be incompetent, but the probability of ineptitude increases quickly as one goes beyond the internationally known, to

It's not likely that a MIT CS graduate will be incompetent, but the probability of ineptitude increases quickly as one goes beyond the internationally known, top-tier schools. In some ways, the value of a formal education has been diminished. Thankfully, I have never been forced to exclude candidates based on academic pedigree. And, I test _everyone_ in interviews to see if they're clueful. So, if I'm already willing to accept candidates without regard to pedigree and I have to act as the gatekeeper myself, there's little disadvantage for an education seeker (I had to choose words carefully here) to "take" OpenCourseware classes, perhaps with a group. Furthermore, I'd respect such initiative much more than someone who attended a mid-tier CS program (like I did).