I am thinking about getting serious with web design, but I am wondering if a degree is best or just experience? If a degree is the way to go, what do you think about the online courses? Are they okay or would you recommend a "real" college? Any input would be appreciated.
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web design/development degree
- Thread starter kgarner
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Experience is everything when it comes to web design.
Personally though, I wouldn't go into this field if I were you.
Personally though, I wouldn't go into this field if I were you.
kgarner said:
It just isn't a great field to go into right now. Everyone and their mother pretty much knows how to design a webpage.
True, but what if I was more interested in the development side of things. Databases and other back-end stuff. I am aware that anyone can fire up Dreamweaver and create a site, but not everyone can do the rest of the stuff. Design is mostly a secondary interest for me, but I like making it do cool stuff behind the scenes.
A CS degree doesn't hurt. Also allows you to get into all kinds of "backend" development.
Also I would recommend aligning yourself with .NET or J2EE, as both platforms seem to be the most dominant in the corporate world. Even a cert or two may make you more marketable (although I completely disagree with this, its a fact that some employers like the degrees/certs more than the experience)
Also I would recommend aligning yourself with .NET or J2EE, as both platforms seem to be the most dominant in the corporate world. Even a cert or two may make you more marketable (although I completely disagree with this, its a fact that some employers like the degrees/certs more than the experience)
if you want to design sites (the look of them) you would want a graphic design degree.
all that other mojo: php, java, mysql, cgi, asp... i haven't really seen degrees which would specialize in it. you would probably be best starting with a computer science degree and learning all the web stuff in your spare time.
all that other mojo: php, java, mysql, cgi, asp... i haven't really seen degrees which would specialize in it. you would probably be best starting with a computer science degree and learning all the web stuff in your spare time.
powerbook4me said:
There's a big difference between being able to use tools like Dreamweaver or Frontpage, and being conversant with the multitude of aspects of web design such as usability, accessibility, information architecture, layout, typography, web copy, web standards, web-programming, database queries, etc.
Many people here on MacRumors seem to be making decent livings in this field.