This is an excerpt from a message I received from the son of a friend.
I frankly don't have time to prepare a really good answer for him, but I
will be happy to assemble, proofread, and edit brief blurbs (polite ones)
from others.  "in my area" means near Spokane, Washington, USA.

I'm looking for one of the best places to become a computer programmer.
Do you see a new wave of programming hitting us or is it going to stay
around most the basics of c++ and java scripting. Also where do you think
is one of the top places to learn this (with earning a degree) in my
area. I've worked with computers for who knows how long and I've made a
few shockwave programs. They were nothing big but still fun to do. I've
wanted to become a gaming programmer for a long time now.