Adobe offers "certified expert" exams for Photoshop and Ilustrator, these are a great way to get some traction with graphic design without having to take a full college course. You just buy a couple exam guides ($100), immerse yourself in them for a couple months, then go into a local testing center (they have them all over North America via "Sylvain learning") and get your certificate ($150). It's not easy but it's also not incredibly hard either, and it will really help you become proficient enough with Photoshop so that it becomes transparent in the same way that the mechanics of handling a pencil become transparent to a skilled sketch artist. That's the key to good digital design, being able to convey your creative concepts without the semantics of the tools you use bogging down the process.

Great discussion! :yes