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In this lightning talk titled "Learning to Program", Dave Woodall shares his personal journey of transitioning into programming, focusing on his experiences with Ruby on Rails and the steps he's taken towards becoming a junior developer.

Key Points Discussed:

- **Background**: Dave started learning to program about a year and a half ago without any formal background in business or design. He emphasizes the importance of Rails and Ruby in solving business problems, which motivated his learning journey.

- **Initial Learning**: Discovery of programming began with four months of self-study, engaging with a variety of books and online tutorials from platforms like Lynda. He emphasizes starting with the vocabulary of programming concepts.

- **Hacker Academies and Code Academy**: After a pivotal discussion with a colleague, Mike, Dave joined Code Academy. Here he completed a three-month course on building CRUD applications, which significantly advanced his skills.

- **Career Transition**: Returning to Colorado, Dave reflects on the challenges of transitioning from basic CRUD app development to a professional developer role. He researched the paths of past Code Academy graduates to better understand this transition.

- **Stages of Development**: He outlines his personal roadmap using defined stages towards becoming a junior developer:
  - **Internship**: A short-term engagement (1-3 months) partnering with a development shop.
  - **Apprenticeship**: A medium-term role (6-9 months) involving mentorship and real project work.

- **Current Endeavors**: Dave is currently working on a project with Mike who is guiding him in writing user stories, which presents him with both challenges and learning opportunities.
  
- **Future Goals**: Dave’s ambitious target is to transition from a CRUD developer to a junior developer within eight to twelve months.

In conclusion, Dave's journey illustrates the importance of structured learning, mentorship, and gradual exposure to real-world development processes. His story emphasizes determination and a clear path towards achieving programming proficiency.

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