What to learn?

[chaz2290]

I'm in the first year of my degree and don't really have to spend much time studying because I've done most of it before. We learn the basics of HTML, CSS, Javascript, Flash, Photoshop etc but it's not specific enough to get a decent job with.

I want to focus my attention (and money) on learning one main thing and mastering it but aren't sure which to go for. I like using flash and love all of it's cababilites but also realise how important it could be to maybe master photoshop and look at digital art type stuff.
Or maybe learn CSS!?

I'm not really an arty type, I don't want to just be a programmer I want to at least do some design.

I want to look at how easy things are to learn, how fun it would be, if it would be useful in a few years and also the demand for it.

Thoughts?

Cheers!!

[infinityspiral]

Well Flash's hold on the multimedia side of the web is going to be loosening coming up with the release of html 5 so I'd save that until last.

Photoshop is good, but I'm finding more and more I switch over to Illustrator to do my web designs. With Photoshop, especially for newbies it's easy to get overwhelmed and caught up in all the filters and effects and just create really overworked designs.

That being said, CSS takes a LONG time to master. Not really because it's hard, more just that it takes awhile to start learning how to code things up so it looks consistent in Firefox and IE6/7. It's probably the best place to start too before you tackle the graphics side to get a really good understanding of where images and colors and styles can be placed.

A good next step would be jQuery. I had a really easy time picking it up since it pulls in very similar code as CSS. Since I've started using jQuery my use of flash has dropped like a rock.

Also, you should pick which you like better design or coding and just go all out on that for the first year or so. You'll be much more of an expert and more valuable that someone who kinda sorta knows a little about a lot of things.

[aj_nsc]

And then, after you learn jQuery, take a look at Javascript........

[infinityspiral]

ha good point yes :) knowing jQuery without Javascript is like knowing Shakespeare without knowing English.

[Jeff Mott]

Well Flash's hold on the multimedia side of the web is going to be loosening coming up with the release of html 5 so I'd save that until last.

I wouldn't hold my breath. IE6 is about 8 and 1/2 years old, and it still has enough users that our pages need to be compatible. So let's guesstimate the lifespan of an IE browser at ten years. IE8 still doesn't support the HTML 5 tags, such as canvas, and even if IE9 came out today and had everything we could want, we wouldn't be able to use those features until IE8 was phased out—in 2018.