When I first started mapping was.. last year - May 2005. My friend was bragging about how he could make 1337 CS maps. He showed me one, and it was crap. It was an fy map with 6 walls, invisible ladders (cuz he didnt know how to func_wall a ladder to make blue parts invis) and the top was a floor with a texture stretched the whole length of the floor. I though he just couldn't think of any good ideas, so I sketched him out a map and asked him to try and make it..
Weeks passed by, and finally had the finished product.. Utter crap, it was nothing like what I wanted. The kid didnt know how to make a wedge, clip, use VM, use the texture application tool, or even change the grid size. He brought his computer in and showed me how to use the editor, and I tooled around on his computer with it. I didnt know anything about it so, I attempted to make my own map. I finished it, and submitted it on a server, and was shamed for its utter crapiness.
He gave my the VHE install, the CS-expert fgd, and ZHLT, and the Half-life wad and set me loose. I was completely lost. I googled for tuts, and found egir.dk. I learned that my fgd was out of date, so I downloaded the most recent one. It helped for the basics, but I didn't know how to use 75% of the entities. I searched google for "CS entity guide" and found TWHL. I read the tuts, learned how to use the tools read every single description for CS entities, and now I can make decent maps (if I ever finish any of them.) And just for closure.. I am a much better mapper than him now.