[sbinthree]

Having a degree in computer science does not necessarily mean someone can program, so you have to test their skills. Being self taught does not necessarily imply someone is better, but it might imply their interest took hold at an age where being taught to program was less of an option. These days kids are learning to program to a degree, but even someone in their 20s now is less likely to have been programming as a child. So someone who has been programming since childhood, but didn't have a degree, might (or, maybe likely is?) a better programmer than someone with a computer science degree and little to no experience.

[JulienRbrt]

Interesting point of view, but is it only related to the Computer Science Engineering field?

[bausshf]

Not necessarily, but Computer Science is one of those fields that you can easily be self taught without many physical resources. In fact you mostly only need a computer and the internet, which most people do have.

It's different from a kid learning to become a mechanic. They'd need far more resources for that.