Endless Paradigm

Okay, so;  A bit of background...

I left school in 1998 with an "A" in Art, a "B" in Graphics, and pretty much failed everything else.

Somewhere between then and now, I got married, bought a house, and became a Dad.

During this, I lost focus, and now I'm a mortgage broker, but I'm miserable.  I love my wife and son (and my wife is now 6 weeks pregnant too!  w00t!), but I HATE my job.

I REALLY want to get back into Design / Graphics / Etc, but I have no idea where to start...  

I'm looking to enroll in night-classes in Graphic Design / Media / Web Design etc. and from what I can tell, Adobe PS CS4 and Dreamweaver is the industry standard, but these things all cost money; money I could be saving for the baby, money I don't want to waste., hence I don't want to invest in unnecessary courses!

Can someone (anyone!) please tell me what I should be studying to get back into the field?  I'm 27 now, I haven't studied since 2000, and I can't believe what's happened to the industry since then.  I'm artistic, and fairly computer-literate, but I have no idea what programs I'll need to familiarise myself with in order to get out of the DAMN banking industry!!!

Thanks, EP!!!

sorry i can't be of any real help. i wouldnt know where to go study. i can however with you the best of luck in following your new desired path. you'll should find somwhere to study easy

I'd recommend finding a local community college that offers such classes. The College I go to has both Photoshop and Dreamweaver classes, and at $26 a unit, it's very affordable.

If you can convince potential employers that self learning is more effective than a course, then that works (I tend to like something like "a university course gives you a degree, but self-learning shows dedication").

You could also try looking at freelance web design, though I don't know much about it or if it's really suitable for you.

id say the main program that you need to work with for graphic design would be photoshop.
most community colleges offer classes on photoshop, and most colleges/universities offer graphic design degrees.
for the most part the field is flooded, and its hard to get a steady, good paying job.
(i looked into it myself)

id say the best bet is to do a college like devry or itt tech and take night classes. that way youll get a degree and since you have other responsibilities, it won't interfere with your daily life.

good luck!

Thanks for all the input guys, Photoshop is definitely where it's at so far as I can tell, but I'm only too aware that I'll be competing against some serious talent with diplomas and degrees etc.
I guess my problem is I now have a mortgage to fund but hopefully there'll be some courses offered locally in the evenings so I don't have to quit the job lol!  Thanks again :)