If you want to go career then seek professional guidance.
If you want to play for the fun of it, like I do, their are lots of learning material free on the net. This website may be the best source for that. Look around, check out the host sections, they're great.
I personnaly bought books of album I liked (Metallica, Iron maiden) and learn their songs. I played along with the tapes. Also, if you can find a jam partner, it's going to help you a lot.
I never learned entire songs. I wanted to get the technique and then create my own songs. The problem with this is you can't play in a band since you don't know all the song. I never could play in a band that played cover songs. Looking back I missed a great opportunity but I have a lot of songs I created, which is good for your ego!
