Hello All,
So im planning on starting college in the fall and im really hoping to walk out of there with some sort of web design/development/interactive media degree. But im VERY confused on what to look for... I’ve been designing / coding websites for about 4 years now and I have a pretty good understanding of the design part (ps, flash, ect..) and languages as well. But I really need someone who could point me in the right direction, what should I take, what degree should I be asking for? Essentially I want to walk out of college and be able to apply at any web design firm or job and have the proper documents to back me up. Im currently in north nj, 10 minute drive from the city.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Hello,

Well this is really more or less what you feel comfortable doing. What college are you planning on going to? I mean to be honest one of the best degrees is a CS (Computer Science) degree, and a minor in Arts Design.

If you can give me some of the colleges in your area I would be happy to help you look into them and come up with the best degree programs in your area.

Well, if I were you, I would go for the degree called don't. There have been countless threads on this website discussing whether degrees are necessary or not, and how much the schools teach; and almost all are negative. Here's a search link...

http://www.webmaster-talk.com/search...archid=1029878

- Steve

Well around my area there is, NJ-IT,Rutgers, Montclaire, Kean University, and a few more. im actually located in Union, NJ. I was thinking about going to a community college in my area my first to years (Union County College), get my basic courses over with then transfer over to a univeristy and finish off my final two years.but depending on the advice i get i could possibly goto another school, i have a very detailed portolio of my creations which include websites, 3D Renders, T-Shirt Designs, Shipping Boxes, Even magazine Advertisements. I Spoke to a buddy of mine who just graduated Pace University mine and he said with a portfolio like that i could have a shot at a nice college. but thats the thing, i have no idea what to go for or where to look. i cant depend on my guidance counselors because they're all lazy and could care less what i do...
thank you very much for helping me.

Originally Posted by stevej

Well, if I were you, I would go for the degree called don't. There have been countless threads on this website discussing whether degrees are necessary or not, and how much the schools teach; and almost all are negative. Here's a search link...

http://www.webmaster-talk.com/search...archid=1029878

- Steve

I guess i agree, my portfolio would speak louder/mean more then any piece of paper would. but i feel by going to school for it i could learn how to apply different techniques, organize my self, basically make my self more professional. i beleive the experience i earn itself is going to be worth more then me being able to say "i have a degree".

I'll repeat my answer from another thread here, since it's relevant:

In many metropolitan areas I am finding what's called a "brain glut". Many employers will opt for the one with the degree first, and if any positions are left they might look at the person with qualifications but no degree. So in those areas where there are scads of individuals with degrees (and in this economy many of them laid off) the ones without are SOL. That's certainly the case in my area, which is why I'm still a freelancer.

It's one of those sad but true things. If someone wants to prove me wrong, here, please do, 'cause I'd be happy to move somewhere my skills are actually appreciated in the form of wages and benefits.

Since it hasn't been mentioned, technical colleges another way to go, and many offer degrees specifically in web design and/or development, but take care to check that the one you choose is accredited.

tim

I'm majoring in computer science (kinda almost done... getting there). Honestly, however, the things you metioned arn't really part of what you'll learn with that particular major. My school offers 5 majors in the field and none of them cover flash, photoshop, or web design (really those arn't the sort of things you go to college for). There's a digital arts minor that covers some of that, but really a lot of what you mentioned are things you should learn on your own anyways.

College is great experience and a degree is a good thing to have, but you shouldn't get it out of formality. I'm not saying you shouldn't go to college, I'm just saying that you shouldn't do it for the wrong reasons. Personally, I'm enjoying every minute of college, but then again my interests are in programming, math, and AI. All of the web design I know I learned on my own.

Its true that a degree is going to put you ahead of everyone else in the eyes of many employers, but if you decided to get one make sure its in something you're interested in otherwise you're in for a tough 4 (probably 5) years. Most of the time you can change majors, so if you decide you want to go in another direction its really not that big of a deal.

Ahh okay, Well my wife is from Northern Jersey so we will do some research and try to find a good program for you in that area.

You can learn web designing or web development not by reading a book or getting a degree but by practical experience.

In IT world, practical knowledge makes a person more experience rather than reading a book or doing a course.

My suggestion to you is that learn animation also that will also make a strong point in your resume.

You should have a degree in something. There is no question about that. You could see if a business mgmt major with a arts minor. Have something that makes unique to everyone else. When it comes to free lancing it most likely wont matter because many look at your portfolio.

With how free lance prcies are dropping due to over seas designers it would be best to obtain both. There will always be someone who is looking for a U.S. designer but at what volume is the question for the future?

Also, a business management degree will allow yout o properly market, accout, and grow your business.

Originally Posted by ShawnITSolution

Ahh okay, Well my wife is from Northern Jersey so we will do some research and try to find a good program for you in that area.

Thank you once again for your help.

And i agree i will definitely keep a very well built portfolio, but im determined to have that degree behind my belt aswell.

Hey sorry, I worked very late last night and me and wife have a young son so we haven't gotten a chance to look into anything yet.

She has mentioned that she had alot of friends that attended Rutgers, but we are not 100% sure of its Computer degrees, we will get back with you by the end of the weekend.

Originally Posted by ShawnITSolution

Hey sorry, I worked very late last night and me and wife have a young son so we haven't gotten a chance to look into anything yet.

She has mentioned that she had alot of friends that attended Rutgers, but we are not 100% sure of its Computer degrees, we will get back with you by the end of the weekend.

No problem thanks again for the help!

Wendel I don't know if you'll find any web design/development degrees. More likely you'd get a degree in either graphic design or computer science depending on which side of the design/development you lean toward. If I read correctly above it sounds like you're more on the design side so I'd probably look for a graphic design degree.

With web design/development the technology changes faster than school curriculum so it can be hard to offer a degree. Also the basics of what you need to know don't really lend themselves to a degree, more a few courses within a degree. Advanced things can be taught forever, but there are so many different directions you could go it doesn't lend itself to an undergrad degree.

You'll likely be best served with the graphic design degree and look for a program that does offer courses in web design. I'm sure they all do at this point, but maybe look for a program with a little more focus on web topics.

I went to WITC for my IT Web Analyst/Programming degree.

The course consisted of UML, Visual Basic, Access, MS SQL administration,
Java, XML, Web Design (including HTML, PHP, Javascript).

I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I hope that your in a part of the country which has a demand for the kind of business your looking to offer. Because if its over saturated, by the time you get out, you'll find that your a dime a dozen and if you do get hired you'll find yourself doing things a goat could do if they could teach them basic dev . So make sure you know where you fit before you jump