I agree with this somewhat but I also believe that in IT, the real experience only begins when we become part of an organization because, on a personal level, we might not have that kind of infrastructure to practice. Like GPUs and administration services for the Cloud. Can we learn? yes, but there is a limit to it. Don't you think?
Yes, there are limits. I didn't have access to some cool hardware. On the other hand, a lot of hardware today is available in the cloud.
But that's not the key point. The issue isn't "I can't do LLM because I don't have a super-gpu-cluster." The issue is "I stepped out of doing just enough work to pass, and found areas I can play in, while staying inside my budget constraints."
As students we all have budget constraints. I built my (my actual own) computer using parts discarded by companies. My first hard drive lived in a cigar box. Of course it was an xt when 286s were already mainstream - but I put it together.
It taught me not to focus on what I couldn't buy. But to learn whatever I could with the resources I could lay hands on. And there's lots you can do today with bottom of the barrel hardware.
There's a bottomless pile if excuses out there. And no shortage of candidates telling me them. The guy who looks past the excuses, and finds a way regardless, that's "experience" I'm looking for.
