Looking to expand my skillset

Hey guys,

Thought I'd post here and get a couple opinions. this might sound a bit immature, but if you never ask, you never know :)

I've been a contract video/editor graphics guy for the past 15 years and have loved it (and still do). But with the past few years of tightened budgets and cheaper equipment. Work seems to slow a bit and the advice I've been getting from producers to stay competitive is to buy a camera & lights and go one-man-band, or to move to a bigger market (which to me spells higher cost-of-living & more competition).

So I've been thinking the past year about trying to tackle other avenues that interest me and one is computer/web programming. I'm not trying a complete career change but am not afraid to intern or going to get certified in some beneficial languages and skills. I'm hoping some of you could give me some practical advice in this area.

Quick background of my existing program/website skills and what I'd 'like' to do

- I have done a pretty decent amount of HTML
- I've read and studied CSS, and currently reading up on ASP.NET
- I have interest in learning Javascript & even AJAX
- I have worked with applications like Photoshop, Fireworks, flash (even did a touch of actionscript) and currently 'play' with Joomla & Virtual Studio

- I am not really interested in programming video games or internet security. I would be interested in learning how to help designing practical apps (either for smartphone/table) or even regular computers. E-commerce is also an interest

- I would love to work as closely to the video field (media management, encoding, social media, player apps; etc) as possible, but I might be kidding myself.

- And lastly, I need to go where there's a need. Not greedy or impatient, but I'd like to avoid programming arenas that only average a few bucks above minimum wage.

Again, I know this all sounds like the letter of an 18 year old kid- The reality is that the languages change so quickly and there are so many directions one can go. I also wish I had a better gauge on what I wanted to do exactly and the best way to approach things. But any ideas, suggestions, or areas of need that someone with my background and skillset could effectively break into would be very appreciated.

Thx and sorry for the long posting.

R