I can't really explain how someone would get to grad school and not know how to code a linked list. And yes, there are exceptions. It all comes down to probabilities and when it comes to programming concepts, the odds are in favor of the person with a four year degree. That doesn't mean that you can't do without it, but the odds are lower.

Oh, you know what I'm trying to say. No need to spend time picking apart an analogy... :P

Agreed. But it all comes down to probabilities. An English Major is more likely to write a successful book, but then there are many with no degree who have gone on to do great things...

I was making a generalization. There are certainly exceptions, such as yourself. I can only go on the experience I have. I was more talking about what you learn at a vocational school, not what you learn yourself later.

In my experience people who have gone to vocational schools do not have the same background in algorithms than do people who have gone to four year schools. They do not have as expansive of knowledge in data structures and sorting algorithms and the like. There are many jobs where optimizing is important and knowing which algorithm has the best run time in O() notation can be important. They may know Java, but that doesn't mean that they can code just as well. Just because someone knows how to use a typewriter doesn't mean they can write a book just as well as an English major.