Hey there, I did indeed go to school for photography. After a BA in psychology, I jumped over to photography for an MFA. After that, I spent 4 years as an Assistant Professor of Art teaching photography and video, before pursuing commercial work full-time while still teaching workshops when possible. Best advice I could give on learning new Photoshop processes is to give yourself a concept that you have no idea how you'd be able to complete (for example: put yourself on a self-propelled rocket hovering over trees, on course to the levitating landing pad). Crazy and daunting, right? There's no rush. There's a vast amount of Youtube resources out there that can help you in each step of the process. I know because I still reference Youtube tutorials, too (in addition to previously making about 2 dozen for course content over the years).

Thanks for the links, I'll definitely check them out. Excited to be involved!