I find this a very interesting thread. I come from a C/C++ background and before that electronics and embedded systems (using Z80 and 8051).

I've been learning Perl for a couple of months. Using the teachings of my fellow monks I find I can now give good answers to a lot of the general "how do I do a regex" type of questions that are posted in SoPW. I feel I have reached a level of competency with Perl in a short period of time that would match less experienced programmers with 1-2 years of Perl and a level that would way surpass a college intern's competency in the same period.

So to enlarge slightly on dragonchild's advice: CPAN and PM should be the first points of call (depending on the problem).

The bottom line however, as has been implied by Tanktalus, is that an attitude and motivation to take on the challenge is the key regardless of past experience. And most often the past experience is the indicator of the attitude and motivation that are required.