Actually that was pretty important advice and a huge part of the picture/story. You can learn through non-traditional pathways just fine, but if you want to turn that learning into a career you're going to have to know a lot more about marketing and put it into practice than someone who has taken the traditional route, with a familiar story, and traditional access to employment opportunities.
This could have easily been a story about someone who spent a year learning to code and reporting how it was a waste of time because no one wanted to hire them. I bet a lot of folks run into that and just don't bother to write about it or make it to the top of Hacker News. Marketing matters, and if you're going to put in 20 hours a week as an investment in yourself you better be thinking about how to get a return.
This could have easily been a story about someone who spent a year learning to code and reporting how it was a waste of time because no one wanted to hire them. I bet a lot of folks run into that and just don't bother to write about it or make it to the top of Hacker News. Marketing matters, and if you're going to put in 20 hours a week as an investment in yourself you better be thinking about how to get a return.