In from Long Island, New York

Hey guys, I've already put a few posts on here, not many though. I've come here to basically explore the world of lasers, hopefully it can help influence my career path (I'm 18 years old.) I've been programming since I was 12 years old, and building circuits for probably around 2 years now. I've tried to get as much of a diversified background as I possibly can. I've done a lot with high voltage, as well as designing several oscillators for hv transformers. After that became boring, i moved onto fusion, where I actually have created a Farnsworth fusor (only demo, not enough $$ to protect myself from radiation or to buy deuterium.)
Lasers are the new field I'm trying to get into. Ive bough a few low powered lasers right now, just to experiment here and there, and once I've collected all the parts i hope to soon be able to build a gas laser.
Good to be here though