How to come from scratch to the level of Junior'a?

Question

IT education

Good afternoon.
There is a great desire to do programming as the main activity.
At the moment, I am quite closely connected with banking, but interest in it is fading every day.
To the point: wondering where exactly to start?
There is an interest in development, in the opportunity to work and earn money by programming. After reading information on several languages, I would like to take up Java, because of cross-platform.
There is no desire to become a bydlocoder, as I understood from the topics on Habré, it is best to start doing it yourself, subsequently participating in open source projects, then go to the employer with experience and a resume.
I decided to get acquainted with programming, starting with the C language (I want more knowledge, as I understand the Java language is somewhat simpler in the initial study, but with a serious deepening there will be problems), but I found certain difficulties in learning. On the advice of comrades, I started with the book by Dennis Ritchie (I think it is known to anyone here), drew attention to the following:
"This book is not an introductory course on programming. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with such basic concepts as "variable", "assignment", "cycle", "function". Nevertheless, a beginner will be able to learn the language, although it will be very useful for him to communicate with more knowledgeable specialists. "
And indeed, already from 1.5 - "Input-output of characters" there was a misunderstanding of "what, in fact, is happening?"
Accordingly, I turn to experienced people, how best to set yourself on the path? Where is it better to start if there is no knowledge at all, but there is a desire to acquire them? At the university there was mathematics, but in insufficient volume (economic). There is no opportunity to go to the second high school at the moment (although it would be nice in the future).
It is possible to start learning programming in a calm mode, starting from the very basics (although some on Habré advise taking a book on Objective-C (by the way, I have it, Stephen Kochan, but I rejected this option, although it reads incomparably easier than Ritchie)) and go straight to the real application).
The book "The C Programming Language" seemed to me very structured and obviously good, but, unfortunately, there is not enough base in my head. What is the best place to start? There is a goal - to reach the level of Junior'a. It is possible to practice 2-3 hours a day every day.
Maybe there are books that will help prepare for reading Ritchie? Or maybe you should go to courses at least on the basics? For example: www.specialist.ru/course/oprog-a (I ask the moderators to forgive if you cannot insert direct links to courses and do not count as advertising o_o).
As you can see, there is a mess in my head, there are a lot of materials around, and it’s hard to choose the right one. =/
In general, I ask you to help me in drawing up an algorithm for the planned study of programming. :)

Answer 1

With blood and sweat.

Answer 2

What language to learn?

Answer 3

The main thing is that you have a desire to learn and you strive for something new!
Then it's up to you to download all the necessary books, videos, or sign up for programming courses.
Toster has a lot of questions about what to read or where to start. Dig in and find what you need!

Answer 4

find in irc or jabber a multiplayer chat dedicated to the chosen language and ask there every day about everything you don't understand in the book.