MAGAZINE: DNC magazine (PDF)

Freely downloadable twice per month (requires subscription):
http://www.dotnetcurry.com/magazine/

Software Construction: Scripting with Python

Every programmer shall have in its tricks bag competencies in some kind of scripting language. Along the way you'll have to know a way of automating repetitive tasks to save you and your team time (while building, deploying, testing, etc.).

Good candidates include Python (do you agree on that?): It's said to be simple and fast to learn as well as free:

1. https://www.python.org/
2. http://www.astro.up.pt/~sousasag/Python_For_Astronomers/Python_qr.pdf (cheat sheet)
3. https://perso.limsi.fr/pointal/_media/python:cours:mementopython3-english.pdf (cheat sheet)
4. http://lifehacker.com/keep-this-python-cheat-sheet-on-hand-when-learning-to-c-1655521825 (cheat sheet)
5. http://www.tecmint.com/the-truth-of-python-and-perl-features-pros-and-cons-discussed/ (Perl vs Python)

Certifications Paths - Development (Examples)

Think "Development" (we could be talking of "Project Management" and related disciplines).

1. First: Choose what language / platform you want to focus: .Net / MS Technologies? Java? Front-end development? Database? Backend development (including database and/or other persistence means)?
2. Check the relevant entities providing certifications. 
3. Choose/plan carefully your certification path,
4. Start taking the courses (most of them are remote, or can be substitute / sped up by buying the right book)
5. Propose yourself to the certification exams (so that you can add them to your CV and linkedin profiles). Most exams can now be taken online. There are exams fees (fees vary greatly, starting from a few hundred dollars to... - check if your current company helps you on this or not).
6. After successful completion: Update your CVs and your professional profiles. 
7. If you chose well, new job proposals will be coming under way. Do not miss them. 

Examples of certification roadmaps (for Enterprise Application Frameworks):

• Microsoft (includes .Net): https://msdnshared.blob.core.windows.net/media/2016/01/Microsoft_CertRoadmap_Commercial_Dec20162.pdf
• Oracle (includes Java EE): https://education.oracle.com/education/pdf/OracleCertificationProgramDescription.pdf

BOOK: Xamarin (Charles Petzold) | Free

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/microsoft_press/2016/03/31/free-ebook-creating-mobile-apps-with-xamarin-forms/

Quoting:
"Microsoft Press, in cooperation with Xamarin, is pleased to publish a new ebook by legendary author Charles Petzold: Creating Mobile Apps with Xamarin.Forms: Cross-platform C# programming for iOS, Android, and Windows."

Free PDF here: http://aka.ms/xamebook