With more and more software developers autodidacts and companies often hiring to meet deadlines, fill a vacancy quickly or take on new projects, a debate has emerged on whether a young candidate’s potential can outdo another's years of hands-on experience.

The difficulty of funding studies while still having not found regular, full-time employment, coupled with the impracticality of studying to enhance one’s skills once installed in the workforce full-time means that many software developers are taking the initiative to study at home, to bring their skills set to a higher level and enhance their chances of getting hired.

Such a do-it-yourself approach is common in Latin America, for example, where a student’s access to a costly course may be limited, or courses may not be available in their location, and which can result in a candidate for a position within a software company being well qualified, but without necessarily having the required coursework on their CV.