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A Few Questions For Serious Webmasters

by KRobertson
9 replies
Bad news is I quit my job today. I guess it's really not ALL that bad considering I hated every minute of it and my boss was rude and had the WORST communication skills out of anyone I know!

Anyway good news is that I can now focus fulltime on internet marketing! Also good news is that I think I finally figured out "what I want to do" career wise and that's kind of why I made this thread is because I have some questions about it. I think I want to get into web design I can create a simple wordpress site in under 30 mins. But that's basically all I know how to do is create sites using wordpress. I'd like to be able to create them from scratch or programs like dreamweaver. (I've created a basic html "hello world" from scratch but it was SUPER basic). But there's really no "degrees" for web design, only computer science (which is way too much math for me) and media arts I guess? My school also has a "skills competency award" for Entrepreneurial Web Design, so I think I'm going to go back to school full time next semester and work towards that.

Basically what I want to know is this: 1) Do I NEED a degree (computer science or otherwise) to get a job as a web designer/developer? 2) Will these jobs be in demand after I'm done taking classes or do you think the job market is/will be over saturated? 3) What specific classes should I take to make sure I get adequate training to be successful with this? Do I need java and other programming languages or do you think basic web design/graphic design courses are fine? 4) How much can I make assuming I'm JUST starting my career as a web designer both freelance and working for a company?

Thanks!
#questions #serious #webmasters
  • Profile picture of the author ColdWritingLLC
    Originally Posted by KRobertson View Post


    1) Do I NEED a degree (computer science or otherwise) to get a job as a web designer/developer?
    2) Will these jobs be in demand after I'm done taking classes or do you think the job market is/will be over saturated?
    3) What specific classes should I take to make sure I get adequate training to be successful with this? Do I need java and other programming languages or do you think basic web design/graphic design courses are fine?
    4) How much can I make assuming I'm JUST starting my career as a web designer both freelance and working for a company?

    Thanks!
    Imagine you broke your leg and you need a doctor really bad...

    Would you hire a doctor who didn't have a degree? Sure, if he had experience or at least proved his ability.

    Would you hire him if he was only it for the money? Or what if he just took general medicine classes and never specialized in anything?

    I don't mean to be hyperbolic but I think you might want to seriously reconsider if you want to be in webdesign because it seems like a cool and easy career that you might do alright with. You won't be a huge success just because you learn how to program a language but you can be sure that you'll lose out on good jobs if all you can do is program in outdated basic HTML.

    There is no average in webdesign. I used to be friends with a designer that booked six figure design jobs on repeat customers over and over again, but I used to be friends with him when he was making $200 wrestling fan sites for kids around the block. How do you think you'll compete with someone like him, someone who lives and breaths design ratios?

    Just some overly aggressive food for thought...
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    • Profile picture of the author KRobertson
      Originally Posted by ColdWritingLLC View Post

      Imagine you broke your leg and you need a doctor really bad...

      Would you hire a doctor who didn't have a degree? Sure, if he had experience or at least proved his ability.

      Would you hire him if he was only it for the money? Or what if he just took general medicine classes and never specialized in anything?

      I don't mean to be hyperbolic but I think you might want to seriously reconsider if you want to be in webdesign because it seems like a cool and easy career that you might do alright with. You won't be a huge success just because you learn how to program a language but you can be sure that you'll lose out on good jobs if all you can do is program in outdated basic HTML.

      There is no average in webdesign. I used to be friends with a designer that booked six figure design jobs on repeat customers over and over again, but I used to be friends with him when he was making $200 wrestling fan sites for kids around the block. How do you think you'll compete with someone like him, someone who lives and breaths design ratios?

      Just some overly aggressive food for thought...
      Ok I get it... I'll get the degree lol. But what I'm saying is there IS no degree for "web design". (Not at least where I'm from). So I figured the people who do this stuff for a living do so because they learned the skills needed to be good at what they do, not because they got a degree.


      And who said I won't "live and breath design ratios?" Obviously I'm still very much in the beginning phase of my web design career (if that's the path I choose) but I don't see why I can't learn to also be the best? Especially if I want it bad enough... I'd be willing to work hard enough to get there.

      Thanks for your reply.
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  • Profile picture of the author John J M
    I somewhat disagree with what was said. It sounds like you have a good handle on using WordPress and premium themes to put up nice looking sites. That is what the majority of basic small businesses need and can't do themselves. It's also what they're willing to pay for if it's sold to them correctly.

    I would stick with your knowledge in WordPress, and study up on CSS through the internet. There is enough free stuff out there. I work with a designer at a national web-based company who never got a degree and never even paid for a course. He learned everything from messing around with websites, mostly CSS. I have had the same experience, but not as extensive as his.

    I would say what you really need to learn how to do is sell or JV/partner with someone who can do the selling portion for you. You should also consider adding mobile/responsive design as one of your selling points. You can easily make $1,000+ per client. How many clients per month do you need to make a living? That's how many you have to sell.
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  • Profile picture of the author PongSet
    If you choose to go that path, make sure to have lots and lots of personal projects to grind your real life skills, that's what really matter.
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    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      First and for most if you have the ways and means to go to college, Take that route. Your whole life is in front of you, and that piece of paper looks good hanging on the wall. Use the college time, to really learn, not just academically, but through self education as well. It is great that you are focused so early in life.

      Might I suggest a business and marketing degree? Take web related classes as offered, if you have the means take some photography classes by all means do. I am of the personal belief that photography is an integral part of web design. You might want to take a video class or 2 of those are offered as well. Regardless of what you take keep my Grand Fathers words in your mind, "Its not what you learn, It's how you apply it."

      There is actually a thread on the board that says make 50K in 1 year with little HTML experience at all. I also have a follow up thread to that one giving details on what content to put on the page. I am not going to say you could do this, but you never know.

      I would start a site based on you. I would start a blog. Tell the world you have decided what you want to be when you grow up. Write articles about what you learn in class, what you have learned out of class. Let the blog be a display of your education and the process. Let the page be a representation of what it is you have learned. ( Kind of a side note here from the first version you build Version 1.0 to what ever version you get to, take a screen shot of each to show how you have evolved )

      You may not understand it now, but the above process will turn into the nest egg of your future once you enter the "Real World". We all fight and struggle to develop such a tool as a fast as we can. You with patience and time will have that, and it will be a powerful source of information.

      You may not have the confidence right now to go and sell and build a website for someone, but the time will come. Good luck in your journey!
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  • Profile picture of the author dengkane
    If you want to get suggestions about how to find a job, you came to the wrong place. This is a forum for marketers, Internet marketers. You will learn how to build your own business here, and not help others build their businesses.

    I suggest you learn how to sell first, it can help you find jobs too, you have to sell yourself to your future employers. This skill can help you build your own business too, as a business owner, your daily work is to sell.
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  • Profile picture of the author Check
    I got a web development job pretty much right out of college (front-end specifically). I went to work everyday and built websites. So yes, I have a degree, however, it's not really related to web development at all. A degree is nice, proves you have the ability to accomplish something, and gives you at least some credibility. Though, the most important thing is that you show you can do...your job. This means you have to show you can build/design a website, and do it according to your clients/companies standards. That's pretty much it.

    A nice portfolio that fits your job/company is much better than a degree in my opinion and most people in the web industry.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pdomain
    Banned
    You can work as an internet marketing, and you are your own boss here, so instead of giving 3 years in obtaining any degree you can start earning money from now...

    As you have basic knowledge of dreamweaver, html, wordpress, content writing, these things are not only basic, these are required things, on the based of these knowledges, you can start your own website and within 3 or 4 months, you will be earning more than what you were getting in any company.
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    1) Do I NEED a degree (computer science or otherwise) to get a job as a web designer/developer?

    I have never ever heard of a "degree in web design". I personally think it would be far, far more beneficial to build up a portfolio (extremely important in web design)...and you this "simply" by learning and doing...not from some paper.

    2) Will these jobs be in demand after I'm done taking classes or do you think the job market is/will be over saturated?

    The market IS saturated, extremely. In addition do that a lot of programming and design work today is outsourced. That being said you should NOT be shooting for employment since all that means is you will be working for someone else.

    In that field you should found your own business/become an entrepreneur, IMO.

    3) What specific classes should I take to make sure I get adequate training to be successful with this? Do I need java and other programming languages or do you think basic web design/graphic design courses are fine?

    A web designer who is also programmer will definitely have an edge. It can not hurt if you know PHP, Javascript, Ajax etc.. but the question is do you want to be a designer or a developer?

    4) How much can I make assuming I'm JUST starting my career as a web designer both freelance and working for a company?

    If you freelance it will obviously depend on how many clients you will be getting and what caliber they are. "Freelancing" on fiverr obviously only will make you pennies, but designing for corporates etc. will be an entire different story.

    However, don't expect you will get a $10.000 project just because you made a simple Wordpress site in the past.

    If you go the entrepreneur/business route....you can of course outsource everything. What you do is to get and communicate with clients and basically let all the work do by others.

    As for employment...my own experience is that REAL experience and wooing your boss with what you can do is far, far more important than showing him some paper degree.

    As mentioned above, that market has become extremely tough today and you will be competing with programmers and web designers from some other countries who work for peanuts.
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