Hey there DoomedOne,
To learn programming you have to do it, but without experience it is hard to find a job doing it. I think employers will not care so much which books you have read but they will want to see a portfolio of projects you have worked on.
I'm in a similar place because I want to move into a career of web application development. For me that means PHP, mySQL, and Javascript. So I have been developing my own web application part time (about 10 hours/week) for the last year using PHP and mySQL. The first version I did not worry about being perfect or using all the best practices, I just focused on learning the languages and getting something working. Now I am going back and revising using OO code with Zend framework and Smarty templates based on the book Practical Web 2.0 Applications with PHP, by Quentin Zervaas.
I think you need to be more specific in your goals because "a career either in the software industry or the banking industry" could mean almost anything and to become an highly sought-after expert in your field you need to narrow it down a bit more.
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~Lauxa~
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