My 14-year-old son is taking C++ in high school now, and doing very well. I like C++ for the following reasons: 1) You can teach it as OO or structured 2) C++ compilers are free and easy to download 3) It is a real language, used in the industry for years. 4) There are a lot of good references and texts available. I DON'T like Ada and Pascal. I had to learn Pascal in college in the 1980's, and it is a dead end. I hated that language. It is not used in industry. Nothing like it is used in industry.

I was a programmer in the US Air Force. I also taught their 11- week computer programming course for three years. We began with basic problem solving. We taught programming design language (PDL) and flowcharts. Students were given simple problems to solve with these tools before they learned any actual computer languages. Their first languages after that were Assembler, Fortran, and Cobol. It worked very well. For those who believe object oriented is best, remember, within your objects are methods, and those methods are essentially imperative.

I highly recommend the book "What color is your parachute" which teaches you how to land the job you want regardless of education or experience. That said, I have seen many of the facets of this question. I have seen folks get technical training (but NOT a degree) in the US Air Force or other military branches. When they get out of the military, the training, experience (and, often, their security clearance) combine for a non-degreed entry into the civilian workforce.

As a former computer science professor, I helped people earn college degrees, or just technical training certificates. Both will help you land a job.

As a Boeing employee, I KNOW there are IT jobs we have that do not require college degrees. They do not pay as well as our jobs that do require college degrees. Boeing encourages employees at all levels to continue their education; pay raises and promotions often go to those who do so. Now, the hiring manager may decide that even though the job itself does not require a degree, he wants to hire the most qualified individual. All things being equal, the person with the CS or IT degree will win the job before the non-degreed person. (But all things are rarely equal. The "team player" type person with four years military experience may well beat out the college grad that was terrified during the interview.)

You did not indicate your gender. I am female, approaching 50. I did indeed feel my brain was going. I started taking an herbal supplement formulated for aging females and within 2 weeks I had my brain back! My husband is very happy; he can have an intelligent conversation with me again. This herbal supplement only costs me about $15 per month, and it has saved my career. (software engineers need their brains.) If you would like to know what this supplement is you can email me at jgetha@yahoo.com. I don't know if it will be helpful for testosterone-based life forms or not, but perhaps we can find something similar for you.