I have a pretty good understanding of HTML and CSS. I want to take things to the next level now and learn to make interactive sites. I am just stuck on what I should move on to next. I have taken a couple of classes in programming (C, Visual Basics) so I understand programming logic. I understand how PHP works, but dont have any experience working with it. I also see how javascript and Ajax are kind of a big deal right now. Then there is Ruby....I know its a monster, but I heard someone say that they thought it would take over PHP in the future. So, my question is, what should I try to learn next? PHP, Javascript, Ruby?? What would be the most useful?

I would personally stick to php and javascript. Once I had those down, I would then learn c# (or vb.net since your already familiar with vb).

ASP. ASP is sexy.

Seriously, any programming language that will accomplish what you want it to will be fine. The best thing you can do is to come up with a list of everything you can think of that you'd want to do, and find the language that best suits you.

Stephanie it depends a little on what you want to do. If the interaction you mean is with a database then it's a server side language you want to learn. I'm a PHP coder so I'll recommend that, but asp would probably suit your needs as well.

ASP sexy? Hmm I have a hard time thinking of anything from Microsoft as sexy.

Either one is really fine to learn and your choice will probably depend more on the type of server you typically use. If your servers are *nix running Apache then PHP is probably the way to go.

I'm not sure if all web hosts have Ruby installed. I don't know ruby or rails myself, but want to learn and have heard only good things. PHP will probably offer a more shallow learning curve, especially if you understand some of it.

Javascript (the 'j' in Ajax) will be more about programming the user interface. When part of Ajax it will be used to communicate with the server and the server side language.

I think both JavaScript and a server side language will be good to learn each for different reasons. I'm guessing it's the interaction with the database you want which will also mean learning a database. There are plenty of books teaching PHP/MySQL together and it's probably a good start.

Ultimately you're going to learn by programming though.

Stephanie, Steven is really on the right path. Ask yourself, "where do I want to go?".
If you want to just run your own site or build a few as contract work, then PHP or RoR (Ruby on Rails) are just fine. Both frameworks can allow you to build pretty dynamic sites efficiently.

If you just want your own business, (just a handful of people or less), PHP and RoR will be much easier to manage.

If you are looking toward web development as a profession, then start by looking at the job boards. From these, you can get an idea of the amount of work in your area and the technologies people are looking for (as well as salary).

Generally, you will find most large businesses (banks, insurance, govt) use J2EE. Though some use .net as well.
In the small to medium size businesses, you will find a lot more .net
Competing with .net in the small to med business area are PHP, RoR, and other frameworks.
These aren't hard rules, you will find a great deal of cross pollination.

One fairly consistent trend though, more difficult and more complex frameworks tend to result in higher salaries.

Paul it's interesting you mention job boards. When I first set out deciding which languages to learn I looked at job boards to see what languages they asked for as skills. After a few you could see the clear patterns and I made a note of which languages tended to go together and which were more requested for the jobs I preferred. Then I set out to learn them.

Thanks for all the advice.

The job I do have right now is a web design job, but it is for a small company that sells atvs, and there are 2 things Im not sure of. 1) I dont know where to take our website next (how to improve it), and 2) I dont know if there will be a lot of growth opportunities here for me since we are a small business. My ultimate career goal is to work for myself, developing sites for various customers. So I am thinking that Javascript and PHP (possibly ruby in the future) might be my best bets. I dont know where to start though. Maybe javascript since it is quicker to learn and there are gazillions of scripts available on the web to modify???

I have been looking at job boards for a while to see what is in demand. Unfortunately, there aren't very many web design/development jobs available in Oklahoma. But the jobs that are available seem to demand ALOT of programming knowledge. OR they want people with degrees in graphic design. OR BOTH!! Maybe I should move but I don't really want to. All my family is here. And there are plenty of small business around here that either don't have web sites, or have horrible web sites that could use a makeover.
I just get overwhelmed when I am trying to figure out what I need to learn. I just get stuck and end up not doing anything!

Stephanie I think if you're plan is to go it on your own then you'll eventually want to learn JavaScript, PHP, and MySQL. The latter two are my preference, but you can use any server side language/database combo.

I'm not sure that JavaScript is necessarily easier to learn, but it will probably be easier for you to test since it won't require setting up a server side language and database and server on your local machine. Setting that up isn't too hard, but it won't be the easiest thing you'll ever do.

What's probably more important is to learn programming skills in general. The more languages you know the easier it gets to learn new syntax and a lot of languages have similar syntax.

Also think of JavaScript as more about the interface and PHP/MySQL as the backend. What you may end up choosing to do is designing the interface and then then working with a programmer to work on the backend stuff. That's pretty common, though if you're up for it there's no reason why you can't try your hand at both.

If you've already taken classes in C and VB, it sounds like ASP.NET is probably going to be the easiest thing for you to pick up. Notice how everyone is voting for what they know and prefer?

C and C# are very, very similar. C# and VB are pretty similar; the syntax is different, but the object library is the same, whether you're writing web server code, middleware, or Windows desktop software. There are obviously some differences, like sessions, but this gives you a lot of options.

I've seen a lot of job opportunities for both schools - Microsoft and Open Source. I see more MS all along the west coast, but it sounds like that doesn't really mean much to you.

But I'd leverage the C/VB knowledge you have not just as programming theory, but as languages you'd be comfortable writing code in.

Definitely php and javascript. Php is going places, taking new grounds every year. Javascript, well, enough said there too. Though, I also suggest C++ because it comes very handy!

I recommend starting with the "dummies" series, great starter info. I began coding in 30 days from "php for dummies" then i moved on to cookbooks and other php manuals. Great tools! Practice and get critiqued often! I have been coding since Basic was mainstream, and I have to say that php is my fav of all time!

PS: stay away from anything Microsoft. too much hassle.