I am also a CS6 MC owner. I love it but I just don't buy into the software rental scheme. I know its how software will be delivered in the future, but I will be a hold-out for as long as I can. The same is true with my cars. I like to own and never lease. Anyway, for any beginner, the nice thing about the Adobe suites is that there are many similarities from one product to another. The concept of layering is a good example. As far as learning, there are hundreds of free YouTube videos that walk you through every product.