hey man
id suggest getting well rounded in the basics of maya first, lots of people will try and chuck advanced stuff at you like dynamics ect because it looks good but most of them dont understand the fundermentals of maya very well.
so get well rounded in the basics by watching tutorials and reading good basic level books. Then after you feel you''v understood the basics do it all again cos ur never as good as you think u are, then choose an area of animation you would like to specialise in and focus most of your time on it wheather it be modeling or texturing, animating, and try to stay up to date in new techniques ect.

hope that helps.