From what I understand, programming has a lot more to it than learning syntax, that it involves an understanding of what happens under-the-hood and even more. Currently, I am just a guy that can pump out a few loops in Python or C and maybe make a small-scope Zork clone as the hight of skill. So, what can I do to become an actual programmer? How can I find out what I need to know and learn it? I know this has been vaguely asked before, but I kind of want an answer of how as opposed to the whats that I have seen. Would it be nice to know how real programmers define being a programmer? yes. Is that going to actually help me (or anyone else) learn what they need to learn? no. (well, maybe.)