From my experience, personality, patience and raw talent are more important factors than education or years of experience.

Becoming a real expert in software development takes a lot of hard work, dedication and perseverance.

While anyone can learn the craft, not everyone has the affinity to truly master it. Many great developers switched over from professions not normally linked with software development, like marketing or journalism.

Instead of thinking about them as introverted scientists, you need to see developers more like you see writers or artists. Their work requires talent, a great amount of passion and creativity.

It is a mistake to look for experts solely based on years of experience. Diversity of experience is much more important. Someone who has a real understanding of many different technologies, and can quickly adapt to them can be much more valuable than someone who has tons of experience in a single language.

If you want good developers, you don’t have to look for people with a minimum of X years of experience in a certain language. It is better to hire experts that are willing to cross over to that language.