How long will it take to learn C#?

I m 24, looking to change career to software, after 4 years in electrical Industry.I know C and C++ to some extent. My friends suggested me to learn .NET &C#, which shows lot of growth in software development, instead of J2EE & J2ME, which they said has lot of programmers,also market demand is getting low. Will i be able to join a software company in 5 months after learning C#? Am I too ambitous or in Dream World or in Reality?

Since you know C and C++, you'll be able to pick up the C# syntax quickly and easily, in a few days or weeks.

The part that takes much longer is learning the .NET Framework, which is essentially a vast library that's available to all .NET languages. You'll find that coding in any .NET language is 20% about knowing the language and 80% about knowing the Framework.

The Framework is so enormous that I doubt anyone has a large part of it at their fingertips. They have to look things up, and Visual Studio .NET makes this pretty easy to do. However, you do have to know where to look and something about what you're looking for.

So dig into the .NET Framework documentation. Find out how it's organized, what the major parts of the Framework are and how they're used.

It will be a years-long study to get truly fluent with it, but can you be productive after 5 months? Sure. Read the documentation and read lots of sample code, making sure that you understand it. You'll do fine.

400 Hours, plus Tax, and tutor time :-)

I can't tell you how long it will take to learn a new language - it varies from person to person, and from class to class. But you'll need to know more than just a language. At a minimum, I'd say you'll need to know about operating systems, data organization, technical writing, several languages (sql and html come to mind), and more. You won't be able to join a softward company after just 5 months. I'd investigate the local community college or university, and see about enrolling in their IT program. Maybe in 2 years you can look for a programming job.

I expect you could learn it well enough to get by, but you wouldn't be the most knowledgeable programmer in the language... compared to other candidates for the job your skills would look child-like. Also, it's hard to get qualified in 5 months - employers tend to prefer it if you can _prove_ you can do the job in question...

Since you don't know c & C++ too well , it will take you probably a good 2 years to be comfortable with C#.

It depends on anything such as your favorite of C#, your faculty , and also on your mind and IQ.
But do not worry ,it is so easy to learn ,user friendly language.
When you are coding via c# you will enjoy yourself.
Just choose your goal and go ahead,nothing could stop you.