I don't think I was ever so aware how "self taught" I am at all this computer stuff ... I've owned various systems for over 20 years (going back to the Sinclair ZX-81) but have never "studied" any of this stuff till this year. What was true for HTML and for cables/components is equally true for "design" (despite having done an Art major in college), so it will be interesting to have (if nothing else) a new array of "buzz words" to get across ideas.
What changed? Well, I was counseled "pretty seriously" by one of the programming instructors that he would NOT recommend me getting those "tech" certs like the A+ ... since they could "pigeonhole" my resume and give hiring managers something to round-file it when I'm looking for development/programming positions. This was pretty much the deciding factor on making the switch. I have NO IDEA of what I'm getting into as far as class make-up will be on the Design thing ... but I hope it can't be worse than what I've been in the past few weeks!