My youngest son (age 20) decided to become a developer after spending several years doing web development (Java, PHP, MySQL) and is enrolling in a software engineering program here in Stockholm after testing the water by taking a course in C programming. It's a good program, and I think he's making a good choice. My advice to him? 1. Learn C/C++/C#, not just Java for the same reasons as others have cited (lower-level language, commercial viability, etc.) 2. Patience for sure and probably a hard head for the times when you want to start banging your head against the wall becuase you can't find that bug. 3. Don't reinvent the wheel. Over the past few months, my son and I have had a lengthy e-mail exchange in which I have tried to show him how C evolved into C++ and C#, how structured programming became object-oriented programming and how dynamic instead of static typing changed the rules. I've basically told him to use what's out there and to leverage the power of today's platforms which are the work of many extremely gifted programmers who have gone before. 4. Have fun! Maybe that's the most important point, because if you don't like what you're doing and think that you're creating something cool, banging your head against the wall is going to hurt. Speaking of having fun, in one of his first courses he will be programming a Lego Mindstorm robot. My suggestion for a suitable exercise was to program it to get him a coke when he's thirsty. Alan S P.S. Please stop the language bashing. It really is boring.