What is an
'informal qualification'?
Simple: A gang of people who know what they're talking about,
asserting that YOU know what you're talking about.
And just hwo decides that said gang of peopole know what they are talkign
about? I can see an infinite regress about to start :-)
In my not-commonly-shared-but-still-strongly-held opinion, it's the
only qualification that matters.
I will crtainly agree that it is possible to be self-taught, and that
said 'traching' can go to a very high level. Just becase you haven't got
a bit of paper saying you know <foo> does not beam that you know nothign
about <foo> or, indeed, that yuou know less about <foo> than people with
said bit of paper.
[No, I am not claiming any of that applies to me...]
-tony