Welcome!  Over the last 15 years, since I started developing seriously with C++ and more recently over the last 8 years where I have been delivering (read as developing and the other stuff…) systems, it is absolutely clear to me that if you want to do something well in software, there is no short cut, back door, silver bullet, worm hole, magic wand or inter-dimensional space portal that will get you there quicker.  Trust me - there’s nothing, nada, zippo, nowt!  Instead, know now that you will have to go the long way round to get the required confidence and experience that pragmatic developers ooze.  Once you have accepted that, the challenge is to stay focussed, keep your eyes peeled, your ears in listen mode (note there is a big difference between hearing and listening), your mind open and start learning…