I didn't write my first real program until I was almost 20. I had written some HTML and BAT scripts for MSDOS as a teen but little else.
Then I started really programming a few months before my 24th birthday. It took me less than a year and a half to get to the point where I was confident in applying for nearly any programming job, regardless of the language or skills required. So I would say if you decide to dedicate yourself to it and you are smart(which it seems you are), you could be fairly advanced in <1 year. Definitely not far behind.
My piece of advice: move to the Bay Area!
It is 10x easier to become a better programmer by working with other programmers face to face while getting paid. The job opportunities out here for programmers are probably 50x better than Georgia. So if you could do one thing, that would be it. (Unless you are attached to living in GA, which it doesn't seem like you are).
I didn't write my first real program until I was almost 20. I had written some HTML and BAT scripts for MSDOS as a teen but little else.
Then I started really programming a few months before my 24th birthday. It took me less than a year and a half to get to the point where I was confident in applying for nearly any programming job, regardless of the language or skills required. So I would say if you decide to dedicate yourself to it and you are smart(which it seems you are), you could be fairly advanced in <1 year. Definitely not far behind.
My piece of advice: move to the Bay Area!
It is 10x easier to become a better programmer by working with other programmers face to face while getting paid. The job opportunities out here for programmers are probably 50x better than Georgia. So if you could do one thing, that would be it. (Unless you are attached to living in GA, which it doesn't seem like you are).