this is not an area i know how to get a foot in, and seems to have a ton of different expertises around it. so i am curious of even where to start - trying to be newbie forensics 101 guy (wherever may even have that position) or trying to get deep knowledge in say mobile devices and then being the mobile device ninja, while you are completely clueless around other forensic areas. to me IT help desk guy doesn't seem to be the most attractive first step anywhere though.
"I am pursuing a career in Computer Forensics and am learning basic computer skills right now. Thus far in my education, I have really focused on programming; mainly in C++ but am learning database and Java shortly."
this is pretty open, like i don't know if you are just getting into computers now and you're 18 or if you're 25 and have been nerding it up in computers for a while and are just trying to go way deeper. same with the c++ - did you just write 2 simple programs in your own time with it? or take 3 classes? or close to a degree? etc. you are looking at nichey enough of an area that i don't necessarily suspect new or deeper knowledge in these skills might help.
you may want to see if you can schedule some kind of short visit with your local PD just to see what they even do when they encounter a problem. ie. they do a drug bust or kiddie porn bust and confiscate a bunch of computers. what happens next? do they have a local guy poke through them? doubtful. does someone from the fbi come out? do they send the gear to the fbi? do they have a local 3rd party come in? do they send the gear to the 3rd party? my complete speculation is more along those lines. actually i have a couple cop friends from different places and i'll ask them. if my speculation is right your local PD should be able to tell you exactly who to go have a chat with.
although great hackers are also great programmers, probably the brunt of this industry is just using tools that the more exceptional outfits, people, and hackers have developed. you can shoot for the stars but on average i would expect to be using a lot of tools other people developed for already discovered exploits. for practice you could try recovering things off your own devices, or get friend's old ones, or pick them off ebay or craig's list, etc. what does a factory reset really do? you could get one and try to see if there is anything you could recover after one. then you can give it to a friend a week to play around with, put their own passwords and pics and data on, then hand back to you - for you to try and break in and find all their secrets. same with running machines or hard drives.
something like c++ or java will help to train your brain to be a logical thinker, or if you're already one, more of a hyperlogical thinker - imagining all scenarios and permutations to account for things to solve problems. but you can hand a great c++ programmer a locked iphone or desktop and they may not be able to do shit with it.
i have no idea what classes are offered or like in this type of world but my bet is one of the best ways you could start is trying to break into your own devices and spend a lot of time googling.