NYU Web Development Course?

[Got Josh?]

Hello -

I'm planning on taking this course at NYU Web Development Course and I don't really know if this is any good. I have the option to go anywhere in the US, as in i live in another Country (Dominican Republic) but I've facilities regarding the price on NYU but anything about NYU and/or any other universities would be greatly helpful.

I've also noticed that this is a "Certificate", wouldn't a Masters be better? Are there any masters on web developing, i would like to take the .NET programming course that's on the same page, I know this is a mac forums but I'm just throwing it out there . Any help regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Josue Abreu

 

[angelwatt]

A Masters (in web design) would be overkill and would likely limit job options later as companies may not want you due to them thinking they need to pay you more. Also, I don't think there's many schools that give much at the Masters level that's worth anything. I'd say most have an Associates or Bachelors if any. Your portfolio is the most important item when trying to get a job later.

The class description sounds alright. I know some classes teach very outdated techniques, but at least they mentioned W3C and accessibility standards, which is promising. Just getting a certificate is a little lame though. I doubt many employers would be impressed with that (at least on its own).

 

[Got Josh?]

Thanks for your help angelwatt.

2 things i should point out are:

1. I have no interest in web design at all. I'm more of a coding guy (Correct me if I'm wrong and i must be forced to design)

2. And no.2 I'm currently finishing up a degree in Computer Engineering (about 6-7 months left)

So it wouldn't be a certificate on it's own, still a certificate seems like low per say. I'd like something like masters but not on design but developing. I don't really know if I'm using the right terms please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[lucidmedia]

Note that this is NYU's SCPS -- essentially its continuing education department. If NYU is like most schools there is little connection between the CE courses and faculty and the day school, which is very well respected.

1. I have no interest in web design at all. I'm more of a coding guy (Correct me if I'm wrong and i must be forced to design)

2. And no.2 I'm currently finishing up a degree in Computer Engineering (about 6-7 months left)

The course seems focused upon wed development, not design. You mention you are getting a CE degree. How will this program increase your skills? The curriculum seems to focus on javascript / PHP / mySQL. If you have a background in programming, these languages are quite easy to pick up.

If you want a masters, than I would continue your education in CE. If you are looking for a program where you can really push the boundaries of programming for the internet, take a look at the ITP at NYU (http://itp.nyu.edu/itp/) -- "ITP is a two-year graduate program located in the Tisch School of the Arts whose mission is to explore the imaginative use of communications technologies"

The ITP program is one of the best in the world, but it is very much based upon programming and creativity...

 

[angelwatt]

1. I have no interest in web design at all. I'm more of a coding guy (Correct me if I'm wrong and i must be forced to design)

2. And no.2 I'm currently finishing up a degree in Computer Engineering (about 6-7 months left)

So it wouldn't be a certificate on it's own, still a certificate seems like low per say. I'd like something like masters but not on design but developing. I don't really know if I'm using the right terms please correct me if I'm wrong.

If you're only wanting to focus on the development side that works too. I prefer the development side typically too, but I'm also a one-man team so I need to know all sides to web sites.

With a computer engineering background you could very likely pick up the web development you need on your own. A class would give it more structure and force you to do some homework, but if you're motivated you could pick up just as much on your own if not more. I'm entirely self taught in web languages, but had a background in computer science.

I believe your terminology is right, though, just so it's clear; for academic achievement terms that have been used here they should be order like so from lowest to highest,

Certificate (weeks to a year), Associate (2yr), Bachelor (4yr), Masters (6yr), Doctoral (8yr). Time frames are approximated.

 

[Got Josh?]

The course seems focused upon wed development, not design. You mention you are getting a CE degree. How will this program increase your skills? The curriculum seems to focus on javascript / PHP / mySQL. If you have a background in programming, these languages are quite easy to pick up.

Yeah, they are focused on web development that's why i want to take them . I am but the classes in my country are very poor, sometimes i feel like I'm going nowhere, even tho i do c and c++ perfectly i feel I'm still lacking a lot in the web business. I'm currently taking java this semester and it feels like I've learned nothing. I think if i picked them up on my own, i would probably learn them, but i still want to take the courses for structure and for anything i might be missing on my own.

If you want a masters, than I would continue your education in CE. If you are looking for a program where you can really push the boundaries of programming for the internet, take a look at the ITP at NYU (http://itp.nyu.edu/itp/) -- "ITP is a two-year graduate program located in the Tisch School of the Arts whose mission is to explore the imaginative use of communications technologies"

It seems like a lot more of an art program than a IT one, i don't really like it. I'm looking for something more "computer" oriented.

If you're only wanting to focus on the development side that works too. I prefer the development side typically too, but I'm also a one-man team so I need to know all sides to web sites.

With a computer engineering background you could very likely pick up the web development you need on your own. A class would give it more structure and force you to do some homework, but if you're motivated you could pick up just as much on your own if not more. I'm entirely self taught in web languages, but had a background in computer science.

I would like to ask you a few questions : How is that working out for you (The one man team thing) are you able to do large projects as corporation portals on your own? Do you pick someone up in the way? How did the design part worked for you? (For me it seems like i never get the design thing the right way)

I'm kind of afraid to pick up Web development on my own, hence i feel like I'll eventually hit a wall how did this worked for you? What did you learn first ? And if possible can you show me some of your starting work and something that you have done just recently (This is just for my own orientation of what i should aiming for before and after). It's great that you're entirely self-taught; You wish you could had taken a few courses back then?


Thanks for the clarification on the degrees matter. I believe the right degree I'm about to finish is a Bachelor's hence it's a 4 year one.

Thanks a lot to all for the replies and I'm really sorry for the amount of questions I'm asking. I'm just kind of confused on this matter and I'm desperate for advice.

 

[angelwatt]

I would like to ask you a few questions : How is that working out for you (The one man team thing) are you able to do large projects as corporation portals on your own? Do you pick someone up in the way? How did the design part worked for you? (For me it seems like i never get the design thing the right way)

I'm kind of afraid to pick up Web development on my own, hence i feel like I'll eventually hit a wall how did this worked for you? What did you learn first ? And if possible can you show me some of your starting work and something that you have done just recently (This is just for my own orientation of what i should aiming for before and after). It's great that you're entirely self-taught; You wish you could had taken a few courses back then?

Well, I just do web design/development on the side as a freelancer. I make some money off of it, but not regularly. Often I help co-workers and friends, but also some organizations. I haven't taken on any large projects. I have the capability, but not the time. Depending on the needs it could take a good year to put a solution together as a one-person team. As far as design, that's mostly been natural for me, but some of my finer tuning has come from my schooling as a human factors engineer, but I'm also an artist so a lot of it just comes to me easily.

I started off very basic when I was working at a computer help desk for a university and kept getting web design questions that I didn't have answers to. Some of my first stuff was created with Microsoft Word (eek!), but it didn't take long until I moved to hand coding and have stuck with that method since. Essentially started with HTML, then got the basics of CSS, then went into JavaScript and continued learning CSS. Since then I've messed with PHP, Perl, and other scripting languages along with MySQL as I need them or just want to play with them. My web site (see profile) shows some of my stuff, but I don't know that I have anything from very long ago. There's others here who posts their own sites asking for critiques and might be a good place to check out for examples of somewhat beginner sites (depending on the user).

As another note for doing any learning on your own. I subscribe to a number of blogs covering web design/development. I find it to be a very easy way to keep up with new trends and finding interesting ways to accomplish tasks.

@ other forum members here, feel free to give your own answers to the questions the OP asked me. I know others here do freelance and professional work and would likely have some good opinions to share.

 

[Got Josh?]

Well, I just do web design/development on the side as a freelancer. I make some money off of it, but not regularly. Often I help co-workers and friends, but also some organizations. I haven't taken on any large projects. I have the capability, but not the time. Depending on the needs it could take a good year to put a solution together as a one-person team. As far as design, that's mostly been natural for me, but some of my finer tuning has come from my schooling as a human factors engineer, but I'm also an artist so a lot of it just comes to me easily.

I started off very basic when I was working at a computer help desk for a university and kept getting web design questions that I didn't have answers to. Some of my first stuff was created with Microsoft Word (eek!), but it didn't take long until I moved to hand coding and have stuck with that method since. Essentially started with HTML, then got the basics of CSS, then went into JavaScript and continued learning CSS. Since then I've messed with PHP, Perl, and other scripting languages along with MySQL as I need them or just want to play with them. My web site (see profile) shows some of my stuff, but I don't know that I have anything from very long ago. There's others here who posts their own sites asking for critiques and might be a good place to check out for examples of somewhat beginner sites (depending on the user).

As another note for doing any learning on your own. I subscribe to a number of blogs covering web design/development. I find it to be a very easy way to keep up with new trends and finding interesting ways to accomplish tasks.

@ other forum members here, feel free to give your own answers to the questions the OP asked me. I know others here do freelance and professional work and would likely have some good opinions to share.

Thanks a lot angelwatt!! , your words have been of great help to me

I see now how it goes. Do you think it's possible you could share a couple of those blogs/sites with me? So i can get myself going, as fast as the courses goes, I think I'll just go with them, because i think they'll look awesome on my curriculum (And since my work is paying them ).

 

[angelwatt]

Thanks a lot angelwatt!! , your words have been of great help to me

I see now how it goes. Do you think it's possible you could share a couple of those blogs/sites with me? So i can get myself going, as fast as the courses goes, I think I'll just go with them, because i think they'll look awesome on my curriculum (And since my work is paying them ).

Here's some RSS feeds:

• A List Apart (ALA)
• D-Zone: JavaScript
• John Resig
• Smashing Magazine
• Web Development Blog
• OpenJS

Also, just hanging out at this forum (or other web forums) can teach you things. I find helping others lets me see things from a different perspective since people take varying approaches. When you take on a job you don't always start from scratch, you might have to work with other people's code. So, helping people here with their code gives you a little bit of that experience. Some people will try some crazy stuff, which can be interesting as well or just take on idea that you wouldn't think of trying.

 

[Got Josh?]

Thanks again Angel Appreciate it big time

 

[Enot]

Hi Got Josh!
Did you finally take that course in web development from NYU?
If yes, how did it go? was it good and useful?