Using pocket holes, am I actually learning woodworking?

[Hazz020]

Started woodworking about a year ago and went straight to a Kreg jig for most of my projects. I've built some decent looking stuff like bookshelves, a coffee table, nightstands and everything has held up fine but I keep seeing comments online about how pocket holes are cheating or not real joinery.
Here's my dilemma, I can knock out a project in a weekend with pocket screws but learning mortise and tenon or dovetails would mean spending weeks on technique before I even finish something usable. Part of me feels like I'm taking shortcuts, but another part thinks "if it's strong and looks good, who cares?"
Am I sabotaging my growth as a woodworker by relying on pocket holes, or is this just elitism from people who learned the hard way and think everyone else should too?

 

[Ababa]

Depends what you're trying to do. Prob best to look at pros and cons here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket-hole_joinery

 

[j0eman]

@Hazz020 yeah, it's woodworking. You're designing, measuring, cutting, assembling, and finishing projects.
Those are core woodworking skills. Pocket holes are simply one type of joinery, a tool in your arsenal, much like using nails, screws, or glue

 

[Bob McNair]

Pocket hole screws have been used on the finest furniture by professional carpenters for decades if not hundreds of years. If you take a bit of wood and make it smaller then join the bits together, you are woodworking, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[sailor]

Using pocket holes is still woodworking. You’re measuring, cutting, assembling, and finishing. Core skills that apply to any joinery. Pocket holes are just one method, like screws, nails, or glue, and they can produce strong, functional pieces. Learning traditional joints like mortise and tenon adds skills, but using pocket holes doesn’t make you a “fake” woodworker. It just lets you build projects faster while still practicing the fundamentals.