CAD, 3d design or software formal education/certificate options?

Suppose an enterprising young fellow wants to get his feet wet in 3d design and modeling for personal/commercial use. Is there a school, education path, or certification in CAD or any of the modeling software that I should pursue? At the moment, I want to learn how to create my own designs, but I have no background in CAD and my only 3d design experience is from graphic design (i.e. GIMP/photoshop) and pottery/sculpting.

Right now, I want to get started designing and printing my own models, with the possibility of selling them in the future. I have built (the printer) and printed basic models with my prusa i3v, but want to get into customizing and building 3d models from scratch. Certification cost isn't a factor, but I am not necessarily looking to commit to a full blown engineering/design degree. I have a BA in computer information systems, and I think it may be a bridge too far to transition into engineering. I am not opposed to open source software and experimentation, but it has been my experience that a formal education gets results much quicker. I am open to all recommendations, thanks!

I'm not sure what certificate programs are specifically focused on designing for 3D printing (if there even are any - most seem oriented towards animation: http://study.com/3d_design_schools.html), but unless someone's actually requiring a cert, why not just plunge in and start designing things? It sounds like your background in 2D graphic design will be helpful, and if you already know about sculpture and ceramics, then you know how to think in 3D.

If you start downloading product demos and free programs, looking for one that seems to mirror how your mind works, you'll probably settle on something that will work for 3D printing. Since you've got a printer already, you can try out any designs you come up with and see how they work with the process. By the time the colleges figure out that they should be teaching this stuff, you'll be an expert, and they'll have to hire you to teach their students.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com