LOW TIME C172 STUDENT PLT ON A VFR DEP TO PDK HAS AN NMAC WITH AN ARR CITATION JET 4 NM E OF FTY.

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DEP FTY FOR PDK; MAKING SURE TO STAY TO THE R OF SMOKE STACK THAT MARKS THE BORDER OF MGE CLASS D AIRSPACE (TOO MUCH SO). I WAS TOLD BY ATC (FTY TWR) NOT TO TRACK OUT ON THE VOR/DME. THIS THREW ME BECAUSE FTY HAS NO VOR STATION; BUT I DID FIGURE OUT WHAT HE MEANT AND TURNED SLIGHTLY L (NE). I WAS THEN GIVEN AN UNSOLICITED RADIO FREQ CHANGE APPROVAL. PRIOR TO CHANGING FREQ; I WAS TOLD ABOUT 2 ACFT INBOUND. THE FIRST I SAW AND INFORMED ATC. THE OTHER; WHICH WAS THE ACFT INVOLVED WAS RPTED AS 8 MI OUT; WHICH I DID NOT SEE AT THE TIME AND STATED TO ATC 'LOOKING FOR TFC.' SHORTLY AFTER CHANGING FREQ; I SAW THE OTHER ACFT SLIGHTLY BELOW AND OFF TO THE MY (PARALLEL AND OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL). UPON REACHING THE FBO; I WAS TOLD TO CALL PDK TWR; WHO THEN INSTRUCTED ME TO CALL FTY TWR. WHEN I CALLED I WAS TOLD THE OTHER ACFT 'HAD A TCASII ALERT AND HAD TO DUCK UNDER ME.' HE SAID 'I TRIED TO REACH YOU ON THE RADIO; BUT YOU HAD ALREADY CHANGED FREQ.' I AGREED THAT THE SIT WAS MY FAULT AND HAVE SPOKEN WITH MY CFI ABOUT ADDITIONAL STEPS TO TAKE TO AVOID SIMILAR INSTANCES SUCH AS: CONTINUING TO 'MONITOR' TWR FREQ ON THE 'LISTEN ONLY' SETTING WHILE STILL WITHIN RADAR RANGE. THIS WOULD HAVE ALLOWED ME TO HEAR ATC AND MAKE A MORE SUBSTANTIAL COURSE CHANGE THAN ORIGINALLY MADE. WE ALSO DISCUSSED THE DECISION TO BE MORE CAUTIOUS ABOUT AVOIDING THE MGE CLASS D VERSUS COLLISION AVOIDANCE; AND PRIORITIZING POTENTIAL INFRACTIONS WITH CONSEQUENCES. (IE; ALWAYS CHOOSE THE AIRSPACE INFRACTION OVER PUTTING AT RISK OF COLLISION; YOURSELF AND ANOTHER ACFT. WHEN YOU MUST CHOOSE.) IN ACTUALITY; I COULD HAVE CHANGED MY COURSE MUCH MORE THAN I DID AND STILL HAVE AVOIDED THE MGE CLASS D AIRSPACE. I DID NOT PLAN AHEAD THE COURSE THAT WOULD TAKE ME SAFELY BTWN THE CLASS D AIRSPACE I WAS AVOIDING AND THE APCH COURSE.