If I could start over, I'd still probably follow the same route: Don't learn the ins and outs of something until I need it, and when I need something that frobnoggles fuzballs, I'll go on CPAN to see if there's a module around that can frobnoggle a fuzzball. If there is, install it, read the docs and then start the learning process.

For me the most important thing isn't knowing how a certain module works, but knowing where to find one or more modules that do what I want :)