A beginning Ruby developer starts by learning the basics of Ruby, a high-level, interpreted programming language. They get familiar with syntax, control structures, data types, and object-oriented programming concepts. They write simple Ruby programs, test and debug code, and understand error messages. They learn to use libraries and frameworks like Ruby on Rails to develop web applications. They also start learning about databases, APIs, and web services. As they gain experience, they work on more complex projects, practice coding techniques, and learn best practices for Ruby development. They start to understand the importance of writing clean, maintainable, and efficient code.