Since my little sister can now put together an MVC app in 30 minutes with no knowledge of threads, big-O or sorting algorithms, I'd say education matters little for junior devs working on run-of-the-mill flavor-of-the-week apps.
However, for more specialized types of systems, I'd require formal education, even going far enough to require topic-specific coursework to ensure depth of knowledge. A team at my company is being led by a guy with a BS in CS, but he doesn't have the background in the type of system he's building. The project has been a source of pain for management for the past few quarters; it's stagnating because he's come upon difficult issues that would be avoided had he had a more comprehensive education.
Education is crucial for designing and developing interesting software (i.e. anything that doesn't query a database and pretty print results). Dismissing it altogether can limit the types of systems your team can develop, and limits the career potential of your employees/coworkers.
However, for more specialized types of systems, I'd require formal education, even going far enough to require topic-specific coursework to ensure depth of knowledge. A team at my company is being led by a guy with a BS in CS, but he doesn't have the background in the type of system he's building. The project has been a source of pain for management for the past few quarters; it's stagnating because he's come upon difficult issues that would be avoided had he had a more comprehensive education.
Education is crucial for designing and developing interesting software (i.e. anything that doesn't query a database and pretty print results). Dismissing it altogether can limit the types of systems your team can develop, and limits the career potential of your employees/coworkers.