I know the original post was a few months ago but just thought I'd chime in for anyone interested in programming. If you're looking to get into the industry you really need to be learning Java or .NET (C#) because that's the industry standard, luckily they're pretty similar in syntax so if you learn one proficiently then you'll pick up the other one with not too much effort. I started with C many years ago then moved onto C++ and then finally C# , a bit of ASM for reverse engineering and then I use python for anything that's pretty web heavy.
I'm fully self-taught by the way so it can be done, it regards to getting a job with no professional experience I would say set up a Github account and start contributing to as many projects as possible and create your own projects, you can link Github on websites like linked.in and also possibly put it on your CV if the only job you're going for is within that sector. Sure it might be different from working in an actual professional environment but it shows you know how to work with and around others in a programming sense, it will also show how proficient you are in the language(s).