programming languages

I have "tested the waters" in some languages, such as C+, and by testing I mean I got a book and tried a few chapters. I even started machine language at a community college, and right out of the gate, the professor said that if this is the first programming language ( it was ) then you probably should try some other language first.( I didn’t finish that class ) Then for a long time I had a job as a network admin, but now my position was eliminated, so I have some time and thought maybe I should seriously consider coding. my question(s) is
what language is generally considered to be the most popular and hopefully have the most staying power?
I tried html for a bit and found an editor that color coded different aspects of the code which made it easier to spot typos or missing punctuation.  For whatever is considered to be a good language to learn, are there editor’s that help catch mistakes?
I heard there are online – and even free – sources to learn programming. I found, for instance, a lecture on something I was interested in pertaining to networks on youtube, and it was ideal, because you could pause to catch up to the speaker, or rewind if you missed something. Are there classes like a youtube video on line?
Lastly, if you are “in the business”, are you finding that things are pretty stable, or are a lot of jobs being shipped out to India, or where ever?