[norwayjose]

I've been programming professionally for 40 years but don't consider myself a master. I think the term is overused and applies best to people such as Ken Thompson, John Carmack, and Michael Abrash. I'd also use it for a handful of really bright people I've worked with over the years.

As others here have said, the key to being good at anything is to do it often. While it's useful to be able to solve problems on a whiteboard during an interview, during a long career you'll probably be asked to work on many problems which are new to you. Researching new protocols, architectures, software libraries, and peripheral chips may be required. Figuring out how to debug problems in new environments can be essential as well.

I'm an embedded firmware engineer and feel fortunate that I continue to find my job fascinating. I do lots of technical reading to keep up with the field. In addition to the documentation for the chips and tools we use, I read quite a few technical blogs via an RSS reader. I also follow a number of technical subreddits.

I've signed up for developer accounts at the manufacturers of chips we use. One of them has partnered with a company which provides free webinars as well as more extensive in-person training. While it can be challenging to get your company to pay for training, few will object to you taking a free webinar during your lunch hour.