About Me Money, fame and the choice work assignments flow to people who combine academic knowledge with practiced skills and disciplined personal habits. But you know that already. Your question is, " Which skills and knowledge will matter most to me?"
These web pages are intended for people who are interested in careers in what we might call the "computer-mediated creative industries". These are people who are enjoy doing photography, video, audio, graphics, writing and other creative arts, but who also want to develop commercial professional careers.
Here are some ovservations and suggestions ... but keep in mind that at this point in history, rapid change is the only constant. The best advice anyone can give is that you watch for your opportunities and be prepared to retrain yourself quickly if necessary.
A "skill" is an ability to perform a particular task. Some skills require talent. Some skills are commercially more valuable than others.
In the computer-mediated professions, we can identify data acquisition skills, data creation skills, and information skills.
Data Acquisition: photography, videography, sound recording, etc.
Data Creation: writing, painting, music, etc.
Information: editing, design, communications, etc.
Skills are enhanced by practice, and practice requires time. Expert skill levels are the most valuable, so it is probably better to have a few well-practiced skills than to have many poorly-practiced ones.
"Knowledge" is the ability to relate to one's context. While knowledge is seldom commercially valuable in and of itself, knowledge can greatly enhance a person's skills.
The ability to apply the proper amount of the proper skill at the the proper time in the proper manner is extremely valuable. This ability can be developed through experience, but it can also be developed by means of knowledge.
Certain kinds of in-depth knowledge, called "expertise" are quite valuable all by themselves. Generally, however, the acquisition of such knowledge requires an advanced academic education. On the other hand, general academic knowledge, being "well rounded", almost always enhances experience ... though it's hard to explain exactly why.
Most computer-mediated work is accomplished by means of a fairly small number of software tools. However, each of these tools requires extensive practice. So, it is probably better to be an expert at two or three computer programs than to have a passing knowledge of nine or ten of them.
You'll be using your computer for the rest of your life. Learn how to use it well, and learn that now. The long term payoff is huge.