I find it kind of interesting. We've never had a professional come in and help up. I learned my way around 3ds Max though pure dedication and the want to learn. I think the great majority of us are self taught or learned from peers who were self taught. My team isn't really in a location like CA where animators and the Computer Animation major is more common.
I will say that after joining
www.3dbuzz.com and watching thier video tutorials, I've relearned what took months to figure out in only a few hrs. I know that if new/self taught 3DS Maxers go through 3dbuzz's basic Max lesson they'll have quite a step up to be more closer to be able to produce good quality work.
My 3 cents...