I've been programing for eighteen years now. In that time, I've seen smart-alec kids turn into great leaders. I've seen stupid teenagers turn into responsible a

I've been programing for eighteen years now. In that time, I've seen smart-alec kids turn into great leaders. I've seen stupid teenagers turn into responsible adults. I've seen responsible men turn into angry old guys. But I'm still at zero on seeing a bad programmer turning into a good one. It certainly feels intuitive that it should happen, but that's not what I've seen. If you are wanting to improve your own skills, I'd just write programs to solve problems you are interested in. Read the Pragmatic Programer and Code Complete.