Self-taught programmer (as well as guitarist) also chiming in. I take umbrage at this article as it is pretty much not the advice I give to anyone. You being self-taught doesn't make you off the hook for learning operating systems fundamentals, data structures, distributed systems, etc. You still need to learn it and not doing so puts a hard cap on your capability, in the same way that not understanding scales and modes, fingerings, and chord shapes will hamstring your abilities as a guitarist.

Build for sure, but don't neglect the fundamentals.