University isn't free, time spent learning as a junior (probably at another company) isn't free, and programming isn't something anyone can do well. The only real measure should be the result.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-w7JCTOpwU
"Do I owe you something?" "That's 100 pesetas". "100 pesetas just for tightening a screw?" "No, that's free. It's 100 pesetas for knowing which screw needed to be tightened".
“ According to Scott, Steinmetz listened to the generator and scribbled computations on the notepad … Then he told Ford’s skeptical engineers to remove a plate at the mark and replace sixteen windings from the field coil. They did, and the generator performed to perfection.
Henry Ford was thrilled until he got an invoice from General Electric in the amount of $10,000. Ford acknowledged Steinmetz’s success but balked at the figure. He asked for an itemized bill.
Steinmetz, Scott wrote, responded personally to Ford’s request with the following:
Making chalk mark on generator $1.
Knowing where to make mark $9,999.
Ford paid the bill.”
[1] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/charles-proteus-stein...
I leave out that since I built Frankenstein's monster I may be the only one that knows where to do it :)