Hasta La Motion!

I have been working with effects for about a year and a half now, and I have some few questions!

First: I have been working with After Effects since i started working with VFX, and have read a lot about it and have noticed that After Effects is not anything compared to the programs the big film company uses. Witch software should i focus on? What is important to learn first and so on? That would help me a step closer to my goal!

I’ve also just started learning Houdini, is that a good software?
I’m trying to learn how to create effects as seen in Harry Potter.

Any tips or Ideas?

Thanks!
(sorry for some English mistakes)