To C++ or not to C++

I am currently taking a C/C++/Windows AppDev Course and I am starting to doubt whether it's the right thing to do. I am a career changer who has done 7 years as a marketing guy and recently got laid off. What are the job prospects for someone with no programming experience, a BS and management experience. What are salaries like, job prospects and what do people do when they're starting etc. The course I am taking is very intense and supposedly the top C++ course in the country. Someone just told me that C++ is no good I should do Oracle or a DBA course instead. What do you all think about this?
Thanks

I just finished a C++/Advanced C++ course in my high school.. during the first week, my teacher said "This is the last year we're going to teach this C++ course, it's an old language and not going to be used, so we're moving over to Java next year..."

I had a good laugh.. C++ not going to be used?? Java instead?
Yeah ok! - When John Carmack starts programming the next Doom 4 engine in JAVA, you let me know - until then I use C++!

C++ is a very complex, and versatile language. I still don't have enough confidence in my self to say I know even the basics. It's widely used for many different applications, from gaming, to hardware drivers (although I think most use ASM?), to internet programming (yes, although not as widely used as ASP, or my fav: PHP)

I believe it depends on what you want to do, or use it for.
The internet? I'd say PHP/mySQL or ASP.
Computer applications, generally Windows - I'd say C++
(although contrary to some Java enthusiasts - C++ is very portable to other OS's as well!)

Currently I am finishing Grade 10, is there a future in C++ for me, when I finish college will C++ still be useful?

Also what is VB .NET ? I've seen it around a lot but don't know what it is.

Job outlook is tough right now for entry level programmers but it is improving (so I've noticed). I'm a recent CS grad and I'm finally about to get a job (I hope). Most companies want a few years programming experience.

C++ is by no means a useless language but many programs are switching to teaching Java. Java is pretty popular for doing lots of different application programming right now (and most degree programs aren't interested in teaching you to make games). VB is also popular in the business world (which I think is much like COBOL) it's quick and easy to write programs with and fast development time seems to be very important.
I know the college I went to is going to be switching to Java soon as well. You'll still see C/C++ courses I'm sure but they will probably be advanced courses or special electives.

Learing C++ won't hurt you at all, and in fact it's highly recommended. Plus, if you learn how to program in C/C++, it's very easy to pick up Java or whatever other language you need.

With your background it might be better to look into database programming like Oracle. Becoming a DBA or systems analyst might be able to make some good use of your marketing experience and there's a pretty good market for database stuff. Oracle or SQL Server would be some good choices. Seems ever company has a database now days so it wouldn't hurt to be familar with those technologies.

Good luck in your job search.

If you have no previous experience programming then C++ is the best choice for you. It's not an easy language. But it's a beatiful and powerful language.

Beautiful because bad code practices are usually received with compiler errors (maybe an overstatement but you would be surpirsed as how other languages deal with bad code)... Also beautiful because you ought to take care on what you do and how you do it....

Powerful because that's what it is and what it was meant to be. There's little you can't do in C++... actually, considering you can embed ASM code, there is nothing you can't do in C++.

But most important of all, C++ will teach you how to develop software. More than just learning how to code, C++ makes you think how you should lay your code, how you should optimize it and its use of the system resources. It will teach you how to be a good programmer. More than any other language C++ is almost the perfect man-machine interface. Low level enough to dwelve on the most inner parts of your computer, logic driven enough to enable you to code for it in several ways and ending up with the same result.

As for other languages. The creator of C++ is particularly acute when he says, don't learn C first if you want to learn C++ later. Start with C++ and forget about C. C++ is a better C.
Java is hype... or maybe not. Java seems to be walking to a platform dependant language (if Microsoft really removes support for it)... Java is also proprietary. Sun does with it what they want to do... thanks but no thanks.
If like me you start with Visual Basic, you are in for a threat. Don't do it. Grab the chance I didn't grab and start with C++. VB is a toy language... also platform dependant and proprietary.

Oh... and C++ will not die. They would have to invent something new to replace it... problem is, there is nothing more to invent... at least while computer architecture stays the way it is now.