[lquist]

As an employer (100+ people), I prefer folks that code outside of work in the same way that I prefer marketing people that study/practice marketing outside of work. For the simple reason that it correlates highly with performance.

[ghaff]

As someone who is (more or less) in marketing, I'm not sure what studying/practicing marketing outside of work even looks like. I suppose I could read more business books--I read some--but mostly they don't have a whole lot of value. Am I supposed to have a side gig where I do some consulting? I'd think you might have a problem if I were to do that for closely related companies where I had the most experience. (Not that they'd hire me if they were ethical for conflict of interest reasons.)

What's the sales rep supposed to do in their spare time to study and practice? Or the finance person?

[ryandrake]

Also there is a difference between studying and reflecting on something outside of work, and actually practicing outside of work.

Do I want my surgeon to be studying the latest techniques outside of his work? YES

Do I need a surgeon who dissects animals and removes tumors at home as a hobby on weekends? NO

[austhrow743]

Is there such a distinction in programming? Plenty of people use side projects as a way to test out new languages, tools, etc. It's widely held that learning programming in general is easiest if you have something you're trying to build. Are there people just reading a "React for dummies" book and coming away comfortable with it?

[majewsky]

The latter sounds like a fun premise for a TV series, though.