Even if you mustered the technical proficiency, you'll end up re-inventing the wheel often, and suffering for lack of foresight (realizing on Day 300 how you should have coded that thing from Day 50, and having to throw out code).

Why not sign onto one of the existing projects that is advertising for staff help? Get familiar with an existing codebase, learn its strengths and weaknesses, and prepare yourself to write a custom codebase that would actually be better than what's already in the public domain.

There was recently a new LPC MUD advertising for positions, if you had willingness to learn, they were willing to teach.

The time varies in HUGE amounts depending on the person and the codebase, but that should go without saying.

I learned LPC through just messing with a code as a "builder". The MUD I played at the time(and still do) didnt require expierince in any sort of coding, so I applied and got it. I had read an online tutorial earlier, and it made absoluetly NO sense to me. The way I learned was by jumping right in and learning by example. It worked well enough, and I am sure it has worked for many others also.

So, my advice:
1) Find a MUD thats fun to play that does not require any coding expierince what-so-ever(they are out there, i can reccomend one if need be) for being a builder, and apply.
2)Avoid OLC, since that means you wont be working with code directly
3) After learning the basics, read some tutorials, that will help alot.

Although that dosnt quialify you as a coder, you gotta learn the basics, like building areas, before you can go around working on the MUDlib and stuff. But thats just my opinion and expierince, might not work for some people.

There's step one, expecially due to the fact that(I think) most muds run off unix/linux.

It's a huge project, which many start, but few even make it half-way.