I'm a struggling and sometimes starving independent GIS Analyst/Web Developer trying to master Open Source mapping software.
For the past 2 years, I've been teaching myself JavaScript, jQuery, Python, OpenLayers, and of late, Leaflet which I like more than OpenLayers, plus Django/GeoDjango.
I also have GeoServer, PostGreSQL/PostGIS up and running on a web hosting service, WebFaction
Needless to say, gis.stackexchange, has helped me tremendously.