If you want to advance while staying close to c, try C ++ and python or ruby.
This should give you several different perspectives of programming. Higher-level languages ​​provide data structures and algorithms, so you do not need to worry about their implementation, as in c. This means that you can focus on solving problems instead of including a linked list or implementing sorting.
There are many interesting books about programming, you should look at the book "programming language". Browse web pages for software development blogs.
If you know which domain you want to focus on, try creating your own application.
Btw 5 years is fine, you have to start from scratch and end up with fully functional software.
Like others, try an online coding contest or look at sample questions and try to implement them.
Since you are here, check out http://www.joelonsoftware.com/
stefanB
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