I have a friend who’s looking to become a marketable developer fairly quickly, but is essentially trying to go from zero to hero. Despite starting a project in Python to randomize wedding slideshows, he’s never really done development, nor does he understand its core concepts (classes vs. objects, for instance).

He kinda just needs a job, plus the ability to make useful tools for himself.

Folks are telling him Java and *.NET, and I (mostly) agree for the simple purposes of 1) easy desktop or web development, and 2) using keyword-heavy languages to reinforce programming concepts. Not strong reasons, no. If he just wanted a job, I’d recommend UI development.

Plus, for marketability in Charlotte, NC–home of plenty of Big Banks–diving into quasi-enterprise development can get you a cube (albeit maybe shared) and a comfortable paycheck. Good luck finding a Python gig here.

But where does he start? I told him to pick a problem to solve (preferably one of his own), then sent him to the “Trials Covering the Basics” to get started, followed by Java EE 6 tutorials.

My initial programming experiences involved a lot of trial and error and fun ideas for projects and classroom instruction, all rolled together. I still remember “making” a pizza ordering application in Smalltalk on Take Your Daughter to Work Day as a kid. I was so thrilled by this completely standalone client that was somehow going to transmit information to pizza places.

Not quite sure how that was going to work.

I feel a little weird trying to advise someone who doesn’t have any passion for the field and is on a time crunch. I want to recommend other nicely-paying fields, but I’m not sure of any that don’t require an equal amount of ramp-up effort.

But what books/guides/technologies/etc. do you recommend to someone who’s learning programming for a very functional purpose?