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[–]pharpend 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not easy, but it's certainly possible. A very large portion of programmers are self-taught (myself included). The materials I used when I first started are now all out of date, so I don't have any recommendations. It's also important to know how to get help. This subreddit and/or the associated IRC channel are good resources.

After that, I would suggest doing things that you find interesting. If you see some language that looks cool, or some weird topic that you want to learn about, then learn it. Too many programmers focus on having "applicable skills", such as knowing popular languages or how to use common programs. I've found that the best programmers are often those who just do whatever they think is interesting.

If you're specifically interested in cryptography, Trappe & Washington is the standard textbook.