I'd propose thinking carefully about what you mean by "best". Most well-known? Most respected? Most influential? Most prolific? Most knowledgeable? Most hire-a

I'd propose thinking carefully about what you mean by "best". Most well-known? Most respected? Most influential? Most prolific? Most knowledgeable? Most hire-able? How are you going to measure your progress? --- > On every team I've worked with, I've always been the youngest. I don't mean to be snarky, but why hit this point so hard? If your post started at "I want to be one of the best", it'd be less than half as long and get the same point across. I applaud your initiative and ability; you are further on the road to expertise than many at your age. Still: be humble. It's hard to become the world's best if you're not a working programmer. Make sure companies continue to want to hire you by being a knowledgable programmer who is easy to work with. --- Plan on working with people? - Practice arguing a position effectively. - Get accustomed to communicating your ideas simply, with the goal of teaching your audience --- Don't think about programming all the time. Read, look at art, push your brain in unexpected directions. It pays off in your work.