imnottired

Also learn the concept of state machines. Like how a vending machine or other embedded systems function.

Top three courses that solidified my ability to think like a programmer: 1. Logic 2. Data structures and algorithms 3. Discrete Math

From there, you are right on that python is a good language to learn first. Also w3schools.com is a helpful place to learn enough to get by in any web languages you would likely encounter. I have found that you will be expected to know some variant of C, so probably that.

That's really it, from a 30yr old $100k/yr female software engineer's standpoint.