Where and how to get started with Java

My post yesterday, Getting started with Java: where, what, why, and how to compile and run it,
 didn’t go unanswered. My nosy questions for Jirka Hradil led to 
 a good post, Java training — a quick start for beginners?, which looks at
 several ways to get started with Java.

I was interested in training as one possible route. It makes me wonder
 whether the money spent on these courses, which are hardly cheap, pays off. The advantage of teaching yourself 
 is that you get to try everything firsthand, though you can also pick up bad habits. In a course, by contrast,
 someone guides you to some extent and can warn you what to watch out for.

Jirka also raised a few other questions that occur to me as I think about it.

• Choosing suitable reading material
• Certification exams and what a certificate is worth
• The standard of Java teaching at universities

Here’s also a link to my response in the comments under the post.