Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

How is the state of the web field?

ronincse

ronincse

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 2, 2013
297
270
Milwaukee, WI
Hello all,

I am currently at a cross road in my life. I'm currently pursuing degrees in Network Technology (IT and sys admin and such) and Web Development and trying to decide which I should really try to focus on. Even though I added on Web Development as kind of an after thought just to help out my resume I have discovered that I really enjoy it a bit more than the IT stuff (the creative side, the coding, the possibility for going free lance, etc...).

I have a general understanding of what the job market and future career prospects look like in the various IT fields but I am kind of unclear how things look for Web Developers/Designers. From looking around my talents/preferences seem to fall into more of a well rounded web designers, so designing front ends and then coding them. I understand that the field requires a lot of self learning which is fine since that is something I actually enjoy.

Thank you for any info :)
 
J

jeremysteele

Cancelled
Jul 13, 2011
485
394
Plenty of jobs available. That's for sure.

Biggest thing is, if you are serious about the web field, just be honest with yourself about your likes/abilities. I've seen quite a few people try to be a frontend designer and a software architect - and it always (always) ends badly. And don't get me started on the idiotic resumes people submit....

Sure people may have mixed-abilities, but specialization is another thing entirely. I personally stay more on the backend side of things (giggity), but I also deal with HTML/CSS quite frequently.

Basically it comes down to: Do you like dealing with the customer-facing side of things, or do you like making systems work together cohesively? Do you want to code out HTML or APIs? etc...

In the US at least, the outlook is still very good for either kind of dev. From my perspective I haven't seen any signs of slowdowns in hiring or anything like that.

There is definitely a slight tech "bubble" going on so that may be something to keep an eye on, but it doesn't really feel like the 90s/00s bubble. It does seem to be more of a silicon valley bubble more than an industry-wide thing. And honestly at this point I kind of laugh at the idea of moving to the valley, with the insane cost of living and all that...

--------

PS: If you are interested in networking - that is an insanely hot field right now.
 
ronincse

ronincse

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 2, 2013
297
270
Milwaukee, WI
jeremysteele said:
Plenty of jobs available. That's for sure.

Biggest thing is, if you are serious about the web field, just be honest with yourself about your likes/abilities. I've seen quite a few people try to be a frontend designer and a software architect - and it always (always) ends badly. And don't get me started on the idiotic resumes people submit....

Sure people may have mixed-abilities, but specialization is another thing entirely. I personally stay more on the backend side of things (giggity), but I also deal with HTML/CSS quite frequently.

Basically it comes down to: Do you like dealing with the customer-facing side of things, or do you like making systems work together cohesively? Do you want to code out HTML or APIs? etc...

In the US at least, the outlook is still very good for either kind of dev. From my perspective I haven't seen any signs of slowdowns in hiring or anything like that.

There is definitely a slight tech "bubble" going on so that may be something to keep an eye on, but it doesn't really feel like the 90s/00s bubble. It does seem to be more of a silicon valley bubble more than an industry-wide thing. And honestly at this point I kind of laugh at the idea of moving to the valley, with the insane cost of living and all that...

--------

PS: If you are interested in networking - that is an insanely hot field right now.
Click to expand...

So far I'm more interested in the customer facing side and then coding the HTML, CSS, etc... to get that working. I like the design aspect and and I enjoy coding things to a point (why I wouldn't want to pursue a CS degree).

Good to hear there are still plenty of jobs available. Checking places like monster.com helps but can sometimes be hard to judge from that. Yeah networking is a great field and something I also enjoy but I gravitate towards the web field a little more due to the creative freedom and (potential) career freedom. Of course since I'm training in both fields that gives me a great fall back which ever way I try to go.

Thanks!
 
960design

960design

macrumors 68040
Apr 17, 2012
3,698
1,565
Destin, FL
The backend and front end side of web is going through a major shift to HTML5 and CSS3. We are currently changing pretty much turning everything around. A majority of web sites today are still using the same old 1996 style of presentation and 'click a button, wait for a response' setup. With the new tech, we can have pages react to users in an entirely new way. Web pages are becoming more like desktop applications. The demand is high for both developers and designers of this 'new' way.

I completely agree with the above, pick one side. Front-end or back-end, both is just a little too much for one person to do proper justice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom