I'd take it a step further and say that quality requires quantity to come forth.
That's partly why people who have merely dabbled in programming over a long period of time will have a very hard time catching up to somebody that has truly immersed themselves.
I'll hire a passionate aspirant with a cool portfolio spanning only two years over a 20 year professional with zero side projects in most cases. (Save for when expertise cannot be expected to be "picked up" in a reasonable amount of time.) The word portfolio here is key.
That's partly why people who have merely dabbled in programming over a long period of time will have a very hard time catching up to somebody that has truly immersed themselves.
I'll hire a passionate aspirant with a cool portfolio spanning only two years over a 20 year professional with zero side projects in most cases. (Save for when expertise cannot be expected to be "picked up" in a reasonable amount of time.) The word portfolio here is key.