What is the best way to re-train for a career in computer programming?

I would like to train in software development / internet design.
I have already dabbled with VB, SQL and HTML.
What is the best way to get qualified, (courses / from books).
What qualifications to go for? Degrees or Microsoft Exams etc and which?
Sorry there are a lot of questions here, but when starting out there are so many languages, courses etc on offer, that it is hard to know where to begin, and what employers are after.

Any help would be greatly appreciated together with perhaps how you got into the profession, what you specialise in, and how you got qualified.

Thanks in advance!!

I would start with PROMETRIC.COM, they offer the courses and you can take them at thier centres within the UKand abroad. If you wnat to do it self style, buy some cd roms and the books , I did and now have MCP, MCSA, and the COMPTIA A+, all are well recognised for genral stuff. You can study your subjects at home without spending a fortune, maybe ebay have someones cd's for sale ? Employers would also want 'hands on' experince, so design something you can show them, at least you have this, if not the 'job' experience. I wish you all the best, studying at home is a real hardone, requires discipline, but at the end of the day, once you have one qualification under your belt, you'll 'buzz' and want more. :)

If you go for a degree it will take at least 3 years if you are to do so full time. A Micrsoft certification is a good idea, you will be able to train in .NET. If you have some experience in programming then this should make it easier for you.

a quick re-boot should do ............

Forty two years exp. 24 System prog US Army Auto coder, COBOL I, II, II, IBM 360, 350. 370 Assembler, FORTRAN, C, CC+
Dbase i. II, II IV, JCL, MS DOS, WIN, WIN For Work Group, WIN 95, NT 4.0, NT server, WIN 2000, WIN XP, Server 2003
18 YR with US Gov as DAC, Command Information Manager for IT in Europe.

Go for Network Manager, design, configure, purchase, install, set-up, Off-Site, DMZ, and conferencing. Know MS, MAC and LIN OS.

Consider: Join the AIR Force as IT spec. Let them train you for systems support for RADAR, Avionics, war fare/robotic/medical systems. They will keep you in school. In the evenings you get every MS MSC, Do all Server and IT Management for the four years you are on duty! The GOV pays for all schools/training a no questions asked experience back ground.

Then, buy your self a BIG piece of mistletoe, hang it on the back of your under shorts and tell every body it is Christmas!

A degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering is a good place to start. What a lot of people don't seem to realise is that most programming languages are generic in what they offer the programmer.

In a nutshell, you will be taught the importance of software engineering, with engineering being the keyword. You are taught the basics of one or mabye two languages. In my case it was JAVA and C. JAVA being object orientated and C procedural as opposed to object.

Once you learn the basics of a language, i.e. debugging, arrays and input/output procedures etc. when you look at a new language you can pick it up knowing exactly what you want to do and how to go about it, all you need to learn at that point is the coding standards that particular language uses as you will already have a grasp of algorithms and the importance of unambiguous coding approaches.

Employers will look at Soft Eng/Comp Sci graduates in many circumstances for a programming job. Mainly because they know you will have an understanding of programming as a subject and the principles it involves and not just a single language that you learnt from a book.

You have a choice, be a one trick pony and master a single language, one thats in demand or learn how to program in an overall sense, so you can apply what you learn to both present and future languages. Good Luck!