Well, this is just my 2 cents, but... It's seems to me that when I was in school I had some great teachers and some awful ones. Some classes I learned a lot, some I taught myself a lot.

There is also the fact that some people learn better on their own than in a lecture environment. So really, you have asked a loaded question. It all depends. An instructor will most likely give you a nice structured lesson, whereas teaching yourself could be all over the place. But there are also books that give you structured lessons.

An instructor gives you the chance to ask questions, but then, so does perlmonks :)

Really, in the end, it's all in how you learn, and what instructor you get, I think. And any advantage or disadvantage is up to the person. Of course, if you don't find places like perlmonks or newsgroups to ask questions, then there is the real benefit of an instructor: Experience.

Update Ok... one thing that can be a bonus other then the instructor's experience is enthusiasm. Go to a class of Damian Conway's some time, or just a talk. If you find an instructor who knows what they are talking about and presents it with enthusiam, that can catch you up and carry you along. It is much harder to pull that out of a book or off the internet. Of course, teachers that can inspire are a rare find, but worth every penny.

                - Ant
                - Some of my best work - (1 2 3)

In reply to Re: Difference in self v/s instructor based Perl training by suaveant
in thread Difference in self v/s instructor based Perl training by artist

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