I've heard it said numerous times by coaches and top players that you should strictly avoid using Chess engines while learning Chess at least until you're over 2000 ELO.

I understand why it is sensible to not just blindly use engines to give you all the answers all the time and call it training.

But I personally think there is room for a little bit of engine use in the absence of another coach (or knowledgeable player) who can tell you what to even look for when analyzing your games to find mistakes far less suggesting better moves.

My question: Is it really such a complete mistake to use a Chess engine as an early learner? Assuming you're doing it just to reveal where your bad moves are and to suggest better ones that you can then take with you to focus your training in a more intelligent way than just playing blindly again and looking back at your games with a mind that it just as ignorant as it always was through no fault of your own.

EDIT: I know books can help with the underlying theory but I'm coming at this from the perspective of someone who often blunders even after sincere attempts to understand and use the material. The one thing books cannot offer is an analysis of your own games.