What to learn, what to learn?!

[theforce]

Hi all. I have finished graphic design and got my Bsc but i got work as a webdesigner! There are some other things i need to know to become a good webdesigner.
I know how to use photoshop very well along with Coreldraw when vector work is needed. Also know Flash.
My question is what should i learn next and in what order?
My boss who is a web-developer sais that i should first learn HTML then Dreamweaver and how to work with HTML/CSS/DIV layers in Dreamweaver and then move to XML, then Actionscript and then he told me about learning FLEX.

Isn't that a bit over the top for a desinger to learn though? Since you then become a coder and a designer from what i am conserned!
I have no problem learning stuff and to be honest i love learning such stuff
I know notepad is recommended by most people rather than coding on Dreamweaver but wouldn't it be best learn from the start how to do things from there since at the beggining is very easy to miss a tag or do mistakes and Dreamweaver is there to show you where you have made a mistake.

What are your opinions guys? Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[Tripnologist]

I'd definitely recommend learning how to hand code (x)html and css as a minimum. Even if you just want to stick to design work, you'll be worth more as you would be able to do the front end coding of your designs if needed. Also, you'll have a much better understanding of how easy or difficult some things are to achieve. For example, if your client wants a low cost layout done, you obviously don't want to design something that will be difficult to code.

My biggest pet peeve is designers who assume because something works well on print, it should work on the web as well. Not saying you'll be one of these people but I find designers who have at least basic xhtml/css skills are far less likely to do this.

I know notepad is recommended by most people rather than coding on Dreamweaver but wouldn't it be best learn from the start how to do things from there since at the beggining is very easy to miss a tag or do mistakes and Dreamweaver is there to show you where you have made a mistake.

Going by that logic, doesn't it seem like dreamweaver would make you complacent? You'd just end up relying on it to find your mistakes. I find it's pretty uncommon to miss a closing tag when you indent and comment tags like below.

<div id="container">
  <img src="logo.jpg" alt="" id="logo" />
  <ul id="mainNav">
    <li><a href="#">Home</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">About Us</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">Gallery</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">Whatever</a></li>
  </ul>
</div><!-- end of container -->

Notepad2, notepad++, etc all have color coding as well. If you were to do something such as a forget a ';' in your css, you'll know.
And lastly, validating your page will show you if you've missed any closing tags.

 

[theforce]

Thanks for the recommendation then