I started programming when I was 21 (I had a bit in school, and some at work before that) but I really got started at 21. Am I as good as others that I interact

I started programming when I was 21 (I had a bit in school, and some at work before that) but I really got started at 21. Am I as good as others that I interact with, especially those who started way before I did. My certain answer is No. But that only drives me to learn more and work harder. I spend time reading about Algorithms and Lisp and SICP and what have you. I spend time reading a lot of open source code, and writing a lot (both at work and in my spare time). I engage in conversations with those who are way smarter and experienced than I (both in person, and online - BTW HN is a great resource) hoping to find that one nugget of information that I can use. To answer your question - See if it really "takes" over you. See if you find a thrill in making a computer bend to your wishes. See if technology really "tickles" you. Programming is for the most part about figuring things out. And that involves figuring out why things don't work. Yes, there is that tingling excitement when what you wanted to happen happens, but a large part of programming is debugging and maintenance, reading documentation and exiting (and often pretty badly done) existing source code. How long did it take for me to learn? I doubt I will ever be done. Programmers, at least the good ones are constantly learning. Books, blogs, online forums, in-person discussions and your own experiments. I don't think there is an age limit to learning it, but my experience has been that for people like me, it's a struggle (YMMV). I know there are things I don't know, and discussions like those at HN are very humbling. I am constantly trying to "catch" up with those that have more experience, but that's not a bad thing. It keeps me on my toes. My take on this - Dig in something that gets you going quickly. Someone suggested JavaScript, I would recommend something like Ruby or Clojure. Buy a book, fire up your text editor and start writing. You can soon upgrade to one of the classics like Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs to a get a good foundation, and take it from there. [Update - Sorry, I did not realize how long that was. My apologies if that comes across as a rant, it's not. I hope it helps]