Increasing traffic on PGD...

[Eric]

However, if you have used Express editions of Visual Studio, you should know that you don't get 64-bit support as well as other platforms such as Windows Phone

That's incorrect, f.i. see http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudi...eveloper-tools

"Good" or "bad" institution is subjective and a trend of black and white thinking (yet another fallacy).

No, it's just a fact of life. If it was a fallacy, then there would be no competition to enter the best ones.

you can let other people professionally certified to help and guide you with the learning process

Well, I've met enough "professionally certified" personnel to take those with a truckload of salt, especially when they're from a pure academic background, and I've met quite few. ;-)

That doesn't mean I say you should throw baby with the bathwater, but that acquiring a degree and mastering a trade are not the same thing, learning in institutions can be highly beneficial, but students have to work beyond academic requirements for that, and search for themselves, yes, in the internet and in other sources, as well as put things in practice in non-academic situations (that last bit being key).

in fact, both are not mutually exclusive: you can learn at university and *still* read articles you want

You not only can, but should IMHO. If only to put the academic learning in perspective.

As for your "time argument", I don't believe there is such thing as "easy" or "quick "money. A person who worked hard and long, who invested time and effort into learning and becoming a professional will usually get higher salary and better jobs than a person who did not.

I guess we have a major incomprehension here, I'm not a student, and many PGD visitors aren't and won't be. They won't be going back to university full-time, and even part-time university can be quite problematic when you have a full-time job already and children.

If you don't educate yourself enough, you may fall prey easily to...

I guess you skipped the part on me saying I already have quite a high degree, and got it, hmmm, almost 15 years ago. So what I'm referring to is mostly what I get from new hires & interns.

Edit: Really, please check Delphi section in About.com, it has articles for beginners to start from zero. What else do you need?

Check the flipcode archives, that's rather the kind of articles I would be expecting on a site like PGD (pity flipcode went away btw).
http://www.flipcode.com/archives/