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But isn’t software engineering one of the easiest domains to self-learn? I don’t know of any other profession that has such vast amounts of completely free resources online.

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The amounts might be vaster than most, but it’s hard to imagine that any profession doesn’t have enough free resources online that can get you into it.

The big difference with software engineering is that you can just do it, similar to writing or design or animation or anything that is just you creating some output. In contrast, even if you learn everything you need to know about being a lawyer online you’ll still need to go to law school and pass the bar.

I'd disagree that really learning it and being proficient is any easier than other domains. People may have impression that it's easy to pick up since the number of 20 minute python tutorials vastly outnumbers 20 minute heart surgery tutorials, but it takes a long time, hard work and good mentorship to really pick up. A formal education helps as well, just like in other professions. You can self-learn carpentry or accounting or physiotherapy, but just like with software engineering, a good (!) proper education brings you further and quicker.

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