> Most people here on HN are self-taught; it’s a skill a large number of motivated people can pick up.
1) Self-taught isn't that relevant - where you learn something isn't the most important thing
2) There IS a large ability component to software, as well as education and motivation
3) With the exception that we're in a funny moment where web frontend is simultaneously easy and hard; the concepts are easy, but the proliferation of frameworks and ways of doing things makes skills scarce (though relatively easy to pick up). Once this is resolved, the numbers will drop, as current frameworks will replaced (or enhanced) with something more productive, but harder to use
1) Self-taught isn't that relevant - where you learn something isn't the most important thing 2) There IS a large ability component to software, as well as education and motivation 3) With the exception that we're in a funny moment where web frontend is simultaneously easy and hard; the concepts are easy, but the proliferation of frameworks and ways of doing things makes skills scarce (though relatively easy to pick up). Once this is resolved, the numbers will drop, as current frameworks will replaced (or enhanced) with something more productive, but harder to use
Prognostication over!