I studied economics and finance in college, worked in banking for about 5 years, and have spend the past 12 months learning computer science. I did a combinati

I studied economics and finance in college, worked in banking for about 5 years, and have spend the past 12 months learning computer science. I did a combination of university courses and self study, and I now have a fully built web application in python/django. Here is what you need: 1) Discrete Math - this is the core of all computer science theory. You'll be able to talk about Big Oh and all the fancy pants stuff that you'll wish you learned later on. 2) Algorithms/Data Structures - As one of my friends working at a well known YC startup said - this is basically all that matters when getting hired as a programmer. You'll be able to solve those tricky technical interview questions on linked lists, hash tables, and graphs, etc. Helpful, but not necessary: Operating Systems, Databases, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering. Everything else you'll have to hustle and pick up yourself. I chose python/django and found a great community of people willing to help me. Get yourself a nick on IRC and start asking questions in #python and #django. Also, check out the Harvard cs75 course (www.cs75.tv). This will give you a crash course in web development. For server stuff I suggest looking at the Linode.com library. It's a great crash course in administering your own linux server. Plus, at $20 per month, you really can't beat it if you want a box to learn on. That should be plenty to get you to the point of building prototypes for your ideas. You'll also have a solid foundation to learn from should you need to deploy and maintain your software yourself. Feel free to shoot me an email with any questions.