[epolanski]

If you want to say that on average a degree will give you stronger fundamentals, well, you are saying something obvious and clear as water.

But I don't think that having a degree implies that much either, that really depends on how one studies (to understand vs passing an exam). I've seen way too many software engineers who were absolutely clueless about software and engineering and even more computer science. In fact all of the worse devs I know have a degree, I came to the conclusion they signed up for whatever would give them the easiest good paying job.

Conversely the world has a lot of brilliant computer scientists and brilliant engineers who never entered university. Some are famous like Carmack, most you never heard about.