This is going to be a highly biased answer, and will probably be downvoted. I don't think there is any difference between a "good" programmer that was self-taug

This is going to be a highly biased answer, and will probably be downvoted. I don't think there is any difference between a "good" programmer that was self-taught or one that had a degree in CS/SE. The reason I put "good" is because, at least in my field, there are a lot of terrible programmers/coders/developers/etc that come from all backgrounds - be it self-taught or with a degree (I work in a local market for .NET). I think a persons background is a terrible starting point to determine their competence. I personally am self-taught, having started "coding" when I was about 8. I have a colleague who didn't start coding until he was in college, and I think him and I are about the same skill level. We have different strengths: he is more architecturally minded, while I am more of a "hacker" (I can figure any technical problem out though it may not be pretty). In the course of my career though, I have met many self-taught coders and university trained ones, and to me it makes almost no difference. What it comes down to is passion, and that can be extremely hard to quantify. For me personally, having been doing this for almost two decades, you just have to feel the person out. If you are passionate, you should be able to tell if they are as well.