Your question is a bit vague, but I can give you some pointers.
- Get a decent set of technical books. I highly recommend O'Reilly as a publisher. (Why O'Reilly? A quick comment about that: I got a CSS book free through my web provider http://www.pair.com (they also host this site, bless their hearts), and it's quite useful, except for the index, which someone junior probably spent a day working on. In contrast, the O'Reilly book that I have on CSS has an index that is complete and thorough. I was trying to find out the proper magic to make some stuff on the page disappear when printed -- couldn't find it at all in the free book, but the O'Reilly book identified it right away. The only reason you have technical books is so that you can look stuff up -- which means a decent Table of Contents and Index.)
- Read these books.
- Start a notebook. Take notes.
- Try simple things. Take notes.
- Try more complicated things. Take notes.
- Try to solve a simple problem. Take notes.
- Try to solve a complicated problem. Take notes.
- Get in touch with whatever local community of users there is. (I love going to the monthly Perlmongers meetings here in Toronto -- the conversation can wander around, but it's really stimulating to be in a room full of bright people, discussing Really Difficult Stuff. You'll be surprised at what you learn just going to one of these meetings.)
- Always be learning. (I've been making a living writing code since my first work term in August 1977, and I'm still learning new stuff.)
Oh, and have fun!
Alex / talexb / Toronto
"Groklaw is the open-source mentality applied to legal research" ~ Linus Torvalds