Video Edit-student seeking advice

Hi- I am finishing up my BA degree in Multimedia and I have a strong interest in video-editing. Unfortunately the school I am graduating from did not get into a great deal of post production training and I have had to seek outside classes and learn on my own.
I have a basic knowledge of Final Cut Pro 7 and Avid. I was planning on taking some courses and getting certified in as many things as possible to give my resume an edge. I am going to get the level one and 2 certifications in Final Cut and also Motion and then learn After Effects. Between Final Cut,Avid,Motion and After Effects should I be set? I dont know if I am missing anything as far as the standards when I hit the job market?? It seems people are looking for the impossible a web,graphic and video editor. At this rate I will be taking classes forever! I interned at a major television/news station and hated it..Im hoping with more knowledge I will have more options that include a chance to show some creativity and not be restricted to just pumping out news with little to no creativity. Any advice on what will give me an edge would be so appreciated. Thanks

DHW, classes are great but what will serve you best is experience! Intern, do your own projects, do someone else's projects. Volunteer! At the end of the day, knowing a particular software package might help get you an interview but the reel that you have to show and the people that can vouch for you are what will get you the job and help get you an 'edge'.

Learn motion. Learn FCP. Learn Avid. Learn After Effects. Learn Photoshop. Learn a 3D package. They're important to know. But also learn codecs. Learn quality control (what's up with that weird stuttering look--what's causing that?), learn how to shoot. Learn operating systems, learn how to rip footage from a DVD and convert it to a usable format. Learn how to work with clients And most of all, learn how to tell a story!

I'm a big proponent of internships. If you didn't like the station you interned at, find a production company or post house that does the kind of work that you'd like to do and than find yourself a mentor within that organization. It might be the senior editor, might be the owner, might be the assistant-find someone who's willing to take an interest in you because you present yourself as smart, hard working, ever ready to help out and eager to learn and become better. 9 times out of 10 your mentor will start to entrust you with more and more responsibility the more she trusts you and you'll start learning the tricks of the trade. Heck, depending on where're you're at you might even get hired which is sort of the equivalent to getting paid to learn on the job.

Good luck!

I agree. Basically the classes will certainly help you get an internship or the ability to work on some projects (above someone who has never touched a system, may only have the software and is "learning" or only has a passing interest) and these projects will help you build your reel which is the key to getting in the industry. Yea, you'll see the ads that require encyclopedic knowledge of FCP, Motion, After Effects, Photoshop, C++ programming, 2K, 4K, 12K, 68K (two of which haven't even been invented yet) but in reality they're mostly looking for someone who can do a good edit. Knowing what buttons to push is important but your real value will be your editing style.