Online help and websites

[Tool]

sorry, but the go to school thing is not quite true rossable.

To have a formal education is definitely good, and i do encourage you to get an education, however its not a must ...

What a school will be able to do for you, unless you're a total newbie, is provide you with assignments that will build a solid portfolio as well as contacts through internships or alike. The rest is up to your skill and mind.

so school is definitely a good push on the way.

what me and rossable are saying is not black and white, they overlap quite a bit, so don't throw either opinions away.

and as for your reaction to the links provided i can only tell you that you are being naive and ignorant. i dont believe for one second that you know all you need to know about photoshop, even though you seem to think so.

the best general tip i can give you right now is, shortcuts, know them as well as you know yourself (whatever that means), it will definitely benefit you in the future.

[rossable]

this i know... i only have an AAS degree in Visual Communications myself.
it is not impossible to achieve things without education and having the education does not necessarily make things any easier.
confidence is a good thing to have but you cannot create a career on confidence alone.

[...Gav]

Sorry i dont believe the 'go to school to become a designer' rule at all.

I NEVER studied g design or animation in school or college, iam completely self taught, and ive worked in animation before which was a brilliant experience, high pay and very very good opportunity for a life career.

Then i got an offer to go into graphic design which was another one of my fields and i have been there since. And am earning a very good amount of money and have alot of potential to advance in my future, and iam no two bit know nothing designer, i have designed websites for alot of very highly respectable companies such as the aa, welcome finance, first plus finance, RAC, setanta sports, sky TV, GAME, ASDA and many more.

Granted them links i provided wont turn her into a graphic designer, but they certainly will help.

But if someone tells me they are interetsed in the job i do and want to become one themselves and ask for a bit of help to put them on the right direction, i will give a few links that come to mind to help them know a little about one of the main pieces of software they will more than likely use should they ever get into graphic design

I wouldnt just turn around and say "go to school"

Edjucation will help you get your foot in the door, but if you have the talent someone will give u a chance soon enough, then from there is where u can prove yourself and excell from that day forward

[rossable]

if you're referring to freelancing then i can understand your point of view no problem.
freelancing an alternative rout to form a great reputation in the business.
some firms and companies hire freelancers to do what they don't have time to get to themselves and if the freelancer is impressive they occasionally offer positions. nothing wrong with that at all!
i built up my experience resume doing freelancing so i do understand the benefits.
imho you cannot fully understand something as complex as typography just from one source like the internet or just from a few books. you have to get a multi-spectrum view of the topic.
one of the main benifits of college is that you can experiance all the branches of graphic design easier.
you are exposed to print media, illustration, 3D modeling/animation, 2D animation, POP advertising, GUI Design, Photo Manipulation and Retouching, font-face creation, page layout, component design, technical drafting, etc.
i know of very few self taught freelancers that have dabbled in such a broad variety of graphic design subsets.
it's true that you dont need to know all of it but at least your exposed to it all to find what you truly enjoy.
it provides you with opportunities that you may not have a chance for otherwise.
it's hard to believe that you can rule it out so easily.
the education is not so much for the opportunities after graduation but the ones while you are still learning your trade!
the piece of paper you get at the end is worthless compared to the experiences you had while trying to obtain it.