Moving beyond the classroom
I have taken 4 years of programming academic classes in my academic career, 2 in high school and 2 in college. I currently attend DeVry University. While all of the classes were very helpful in learning techniques and basics, I feel they have not fully prepared me for becoming a programmer. I do have a thorough understanding of OOP, or atleast what they have taught in class which ranges to Polymorphism, inheritance, and interfaces. My primary language is Java but I have begun learning C++ and have 3 years experience in SQL.
I took up a job at a local hospital to work in their IT department. There I was able to sharpen my SQL skills. From there I took up my current a job at a government contractor. Here I am working on my Java and C++ programming and starting to learn Socket programming with Java.
My issue however, is in trying to learn something to better myself. I have attempted to learn web development, since I figured that would be the next best move. However, the path to moving pass basic HTML and CSS seems to elude me. I have always had a problem with self teaching and most of the programmers I am around either seem on-par with me or are too busy to mentor me. Thus I need another avenue in which I can better myself.
I have attempted to look into open source projects, but they all seem more complex than anything I have worked on. I attempt to just learn a piece of the project, but each time I try, the piece seems to expand in an area I don't understand and I begin to feel overwhelmed.
So I am posting here to ask advice from anyone who may know the best avenue for me to take in furthering my abilities as a programmer. I see myself as a competent learner as long as I have the resources to learn from.