> they compensate by being able to learn quickly and efficiently for the job at hand.

We ALL need to be able to learn quickly or we simply don't last. If you've been doing this for a decade or more, you're guaranteed to have that skill in abundance, regardless of your origins.

What the OP was getting at is that you get exposed to a host of different ideas and paradigms in a proper CS program. Assembly, lisp/ada/scheme/etc., C/C++/Java, graphics, computer learning, computer architecture, etc.

I learned how to code when I was ten, but I would have never exposed myself to any of those things if I didn't focus on CS in college. What does that add? Exactly what the OP said. I know what I don't know. And it's a lot.