Which certifications to take? How to start?

Hi everyone,
I am new to IT exams and computer programming, and I would like to ask how to begin self-directed learning for the IT exams. I am aware of the certificates listed for the WGU degrees, but I am not sure which certificates to learn or how to go about studying for them on my own.
The main topics that I am interested in are machine translation and natural language processing. I was thinking about starting with Java programming and then moving onto to databases and algorithms, but I am still somewhat clueless about how the entire process works. I would appreciate any ideas on how to get started.
I am new to IT exams and computer programming, and I would like to ask how to begin self-directed learning for the IT exams. I am aware of the certificates listed for the WGU degrees, but I am not sure which certificates to learn or how to go about studying for them on my own.
The main topics that I am interested in are machine translation and natural language processing. I was thinking about starting with Java programming and then moving onto to databases and algorithms, but I am still somewhat clueless about how the entire process works. I would appreciate any ideas on how to get started.
Comments
Most of the code I write at work is usually either Python or Perl
https://books.google.com/books?id=KGIbfiiP1i4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=natural+language+processing&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eUyaVKT_NdKyoQSRq4KYBg&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=natural%20language%20processing&f=false
Are there any certifications associated with Python programming?