Reddit reviews Head First Software Development: A Learner's Companion to Software Development

Strictly in order.

Head First Programming
Head First Java
Effective Java
Head First Design Patterns
Head First Software Development
<http://developer.android.com/training/index.html>

You are welcome!

Head First Software Development
Start with this book. I think it explains the basics pretty well. It’s not about creating flow charts though that can be part of it. Your goal is to create attainable goals in order to reach your solutions in an efficient manner. Like breaking large problems into smaller ones and taking them on one at a time. You should learn different design patterns and how to apply them. Programming isn’t writing code. It’s developing solutions to problems that a program will solve. Writing code is just the medium used.

1. I'm assuming if you are an English teacher you already have some kind of degree - this is enough for a lot of places as long as you can code. If you have a degree in anything and can code you have a chance of being hired.
   
   
2. Some non-coding skills you should worry about:
   
   

• Become familiar with basic agile principles - capturing requirements, planning, estimation.
  
• Some familiarity with basic UI design - the grid system, responsive design.
  
• Communication skills - being able to distill a problem to the fundementals and explain it in a way that non-coders can understand is valuable.
  
  

3. Depends on the company and the kind of position you go for. You will probably be asked general HR type stuff like "What are your 3 biggest strengths", but they will also ask technical questions - they may focus on day to day things like - "In framework X, how would I do Y?", or they may be more comp-sci based like "If I have data in structure X, how fast can I search/add/remove elements?".
   
   
4. If you focused on just front end as people here are saying you would probably be creating front ends from designs.
   
   Other advice I'd give:
   
   

• If you can't already code, start with HTML and CSS. Once you have this down, add JavaScript and go from there.
  
  
• Start with learning how to code - but once you have that part down read a book or 2 that focus more on delivering software in general rather than just how to code. Something like: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Head-First-Software-Development-Pilone/dp/0596527357/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1478693937&sr=8-21&keywords=head+first+programming would teach you about managing code using version control, how to capture requirements and prioritise requirements, etc...
  
  
• Probably a wise choice to concentrate in the beginning on front end only like others have said. Once you have been hired as a front end developer you can start broadening your skillset.

If you enjoyed the Head First experience, you should proceed to Head First Software Development which does cover this topic.

I used these books when I took the course in college:

http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Software-Development-Pilone/dp/0596527357

http://www.amazon.com/Software-Engineering-9th-Edition-Sommerville/dp/0137035152