Except when you're a buck novice it can be very intimidating and difficult to make a contribution among people who know WAY more than you. It's unfortunately ve

Except when you're a buck novice it can be very intimidating and difficult to make a contribution among people who know WAY more than you. It's unfortunately very common for expert programmers to treat novices with disdain, and this can be extremely discouraging. I think there's a lot to be said for practicing your skills on your own so that you have a reasonable level of practice before trying to contribute to other projects.