What’s the Best Programming Path for a Beginner Looking to Learn Deeply and Build Projects?

Why not start off with something simple like creating a webpage? Just create a new file called "hello.html," fill it with some basic HTML, and open it in your browser. It’s a good starting point to grasp the fundamentals. From there, you can gradually add more content, like lists and input fields, and then style it with CSS. Once you’re comfortable, throw in some plain JavaScript to add some interactivity. This should keep you busy for at least a week or two! After that, you can see where your interest lies and explore further.

It's important to understand that different skills apply to different areas. If you're hoping to showcase multiple skills in interviews, it might lead to spreading yourself too thin. For example, companies looking for OS developers typically have a focus on low-level hardware. On the other hand, web development is more about customer-facing companies, while desktop applications cater to custom software. I'd recommend you pick one area to focus on based on what's in demand in your local job market. If you’re leaning towards low-level programming, C or C++ is where you should start, maybe even considering Arduino or embedded projects as a fun introduction.

If you're serious about diving deep into programming, I'd suggest starting with C, C++, or Rust. These languages are excellent for building game engines, operating systems, and desktop apps. C# is a bit easier to pick up but isn't suitable for OS development. For web development, you typically juggle multiple high-level languages like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS (only JS is the actual programming language here). For backend work, pick up a server-side language like C#, PHP, or JavaScript with Node.js. Interestingly, you can even use C/C++ for web development by compiling to WebAssembly if you want to explore that route!