First of all, programming knowledge is not essential for trading - there are ways of get whatever you want (within reason) working with Excel and other programs without resorting to coding. My background is in computer programming, but I rarely program any more - I spend more time managing data, studying data and creating models in Excel. I miss programming, but would prefer to spend the time where it matters and where I see immediate return.
If you need to do advanced programming, then you are entering into areas where people with big pockets have teams of the best developers working for them. If you are a good enough programmer, you would probably make as much money working for these people than you would tradign for yourself. You simply could not compete on your own in the area of high-frequency trading - too much work and infrastructure required.
So, what do you need to move into trading? I would say you simply need an incredible amount of time and dedication, if you want to make more money than you could do programming. If you read enough good books (like the ones suggested by others), look at charts enough and research all the time then you are on the right track.