General Discussions

**Rustyg** · 03-06-2007, 04:20 PM

hello, i am looking to get into the web design business and im almost done with high school. i have taken a few web design classes at school and i am looking at going to college to get into the business. some of the programs i operate in are Fireworks 8, Flash 8, and Dreamweaver 8. im wondering what classes in college would be best for a begining web designer. and what certificates should i get? i need to be able to get a job right out of college. another thing i need to know is the average salary/wages of a begining web designer. i have worked on a few websites. one site i have finished is http://www.bluegrassconspiracyband.com . some i am currently working on are http://www.bizmpower.com/Saptac and http://www.bizmpower.com . i have also done some flash on some sites. one of these sites is http://www.wvsd.com/default.aspx?pageid=408 (i created the scoreboard in flash).

if you could help me out with anything, please post or PM me, thanks

**angele803** · 03-06-2007, 08:02 PM

Are you in the US? If so, check out the occupational handbook here: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ to learn about the salaries and growth outlook for web designers.

I have been in college a long time because I have changed my major a lot. If you know you want to do web design, I would suggest going to a tech school or 2 year college first before getting a bachelors degree. That is unless you can find a school that offers an actual web design degree. Most Universities seem to leave that to the tech schools.

Unless you are a fantastic artist and like history, I would probably avoid a Graphic Design degree. I went down that route and learned the hard way that it wasnt really what I needed. I am decent at drawing, but compared to some of the other Graphic Design students, my drawings looked like stick figures. And I hate history and you have to take a lot of art history classes.

Computer Science is another option, but it is a lot of work in subjects that dont have to do with Web Design. And it is hard. lol!

I could talk about this for hours, but just to sum it all up, I have been through a lot of things, and if I could go back and change things, I would have started out with an associates or diploma in web design.

**Rustyg** · 03-07-2007, 04:18 PM

Thank you, and angele803 please feel free to tell me all the information you can. I would love to read it, and ANYBODY else who has input, please reply. thanks again.

**ADAM Web Design** · 03-07-2007, 08:02 PM

The biggest thing you need to do before embarking on a web design career is find the answers to some very important "why" questions:

Why do you want to become a web deisgner? Do you want to do it because "you think there's good money in it" or "to make a career" or do you want to help people build successful websites?

Why would anyone want to hire you or use you as a designer over the million others out there?

Why do you want to go to college to learn web design? If you choose to go this route, you'd better make sure your professor has a clue about where the industry is going and what the future is (most, if not all, do not.)

Why Macrotools? You'll set yourself up as one of the dime a dozen types who believe that Macromedia provides every tool a true designer has ever needed and that putting a whole bunch of pretty pictures and things and pointing and clicking is what builds a website. It doesn't.

Why (or why not) take courses in marketing, business administration, etc. if you want to learn to become a designer? They're tied into it too.

Why (or why not) learn a programming language (ASP, PHP, ASP.net)?

Why will you (or why will you not) sacrifice long hours, sleepless nights, and frustration as the things you try to build don't always work out the way you want to?

In other words, what you need to do is come up with a solid path that will distinguish you from everyone else out there and commit to it. If you do that, and you're willing to work WITH people rather than FOR people, you'll be fine.

**Rustyg** · 02:05 PM

Thanks ADAM,
This information will help me greatly, i will think about all of this stuff, most of this is things that i didnt even realize i needed to think about. like the question "Why would anyone want to hire you or use you as a designer over the million others out there?" i havent even thought about that! this is an interesting way to go about this, i will think about these questions some more and get back to you. any more information would be great

more posts would be great

**Insensus** · 03-09-2007, 03:40 PM

I am probably not a great addition to this topic but I will state what I think anyway.

I'm still in school now, but when I'm going to do my Physics bachelor and master, I'll probably start my own webdesign company to supply myself with that little extra money every student seems to miss.

This makes all the risks for me a lot smaller than if I'd go and study webdesign/development because it won't rule my life, it will only be an addition.
Why people should choose you is probably the most important question. Most good programmers/developers/designers have been doing their jobs for many years. If you lack these starting years it'll be very hard to get people to hire you. Your option could then of course be to start working in an already existing company. This will ensure you of more projects but you will overall earn less and you will develop yourself slower.
Studying programming languages is mostly not the best way to learn it. The only thing you would need it for is for the easy support teachers could give you.

My suggestion:
(This might not fit you, of course)

Study something else first. If you really want to do something with programming or with computers you should take a look at studies like Informatics, Information Technology etc.
While studying also try to learn different languages and train yourself with all types of design programs.
When you get a job, or when you are still studying you could set up a small webdesign company. Don't expect it to grow fast, you will only be disappointed. It doesn't NEED to grow fast either because you've already got another job.
You can combine your webdesign company and your job very easily and you'll have something to fall back on when your company doesn't work out or collapses.

This is of course my interpretation and my ideas and it might also be very different here than in the US.

I hope I could help you with this.
When you think you've thought about it long enough, you need to think the same amount again before choosing.

Regards,
Insensus

**Rustyg** · 03-12-2007, 01:56 PM

Thank you for your reply Insensus i was glad to see my topic is still getting looks. anybody else that has input please feel free to post

**Rustyg** · 03-21-2007, 03:00 PM

Still looking for more information. please reply to my thread, this information is NEEDED!

**ADAM Web Design** · 03-21-2007, 03:03 PM

Sorry dude...I pretty well gave you anything I could. Hopefully someone will have a few more points to add to mine, but most of it is the type of thing you'll just have to go out and learn on your own. There's no excuse for experience and all that, kid.

**Learning Newbie** · 03-21-2007, 03:20 PM

I have a friend who wants to launch a web site. He has some skill with html and css, he has a hosting plan ( almost 9 months old! ), a domain name, all the software you can shake a stick at ( Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Expression, Visual Studio, AutoCAD and Civil 3D ). Basically, he has everything but a design and content.

Obviously, if you're a web designer, you need your own site at minimum to use as a portfolio. And it had better be good. The suggestion to study other things before you dip your toes into web design is a good one; it will give you something to say on your web site.

**bzimage** · 03-21-2007, 05:38 PM

As a web designer myself, I can say from experience on both sides of the coin. The first thing is to have a killer website that really stands out from the crowd of other websites out their!

For instance, my site cubecart geek.com it had a OK design before, but since I put the new black design on it, my sales have doubled!

There is a lot to be said about testimonials as well, when people can see that real people had success with you. More people will be inclined to try your services out!

I hope this helps you out a bit, have a good one. I would also be happy to answer any specific questions you may have