What should a self-taught programmer study? The simple answer is: whatever you want. I have always found that I learn best when I'm motivated to learn about the

What should a self-taught programmer study? The simple answer is: whatever you want. I have always found that I learn best when I'm motivated to learn about the subject. So I would suggest studying the things you find interesting. Where others' suggestions can help is in describing and motivating fields you might not have heard of, or might have dismissed. There are plenty of suggestions in this thread, or just look at the curriculum of a top CS program. As for how you study -- just choose some and use it. There are many great texts, online courses, and so on. However it is far far more important to just start with something -- anything! -- than to waste time deliberating about the best method. The difference between a book and online course, for instance, is not so big that it's worth spending time deciding between them.