Need help with getting into the web design career
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
Megan posted this at 19:08 — 7th March 2007.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
The first thing you need to do is decide what exactly you want to specialize in. You could focus on graphic design, programming, business and marketing, communications, information architecture, and many other niche topics. Different universities will have programs with different speclizations. You also need to decide if you want to go to a 4-year college/university or to a 3-year/community college. That's a big difference - at a 3-year college you will learn how to do things on a practial level. In a 4-year university program you'll go into a lot more theoretical background and analysis (which, IMO, is really valuable).
You should also start looking for colleges and universities that offer programs in the field. There are more and more developing all the time. They do tend to vary in their approach and speclization. The university I work for has a prgram in Arts & Business with a Digital Communication specialization, for example. Others may focus more on graphic design and things like that.
When you are researching programs, make sure you find out about the instructors and the graduates. Particularly the backgrounds of the instructors (have they worked in the real world?) and what the graduates are doing now (do they get jobs with good companies?)
The other option would be to skip college and start your own business. The key to starting a business is being able to get work, which means you have to know some people in business who would want to buy web design from you.
Megan
Connect with us on Facebook!
3zekial posted this at 19:54 — 7th March 2007.
They have: 3 posts
Joined: Mar 2007
thank you Megan, if anybody else has some input please tell me what you think...thanks
demonhale posted this at 01:42 — 8th March 2007.
He has: 3,278 posts
Joined: May 2005
You must decide really to think about the career you will be jumping into, if you really want a good foundation to start with, what I could suggest is to take a basic "design" course, like the ones offered in Art School. Or some get double majors, you can for example take a course in Computer Science, then double course in fine arts...
The most important thing also is to decide whether to focus on Design or Development... Design is a rather complicated thing to expound on, but once you create your own impeccable style, then your known for it. It's because of the creativity involved and the uniqueness of every persons interpretation of things. The differentiation with design and development is that one is visual and the other functional...
3zekial posted this at 18:42 — 8th March 2007.
They have: 3 posts
Joined: Mar 2007
Thank you demon, the advice is greatly appreciated. anybody else who would like to post or who has any knowledge to share, please post
Want to join the discussion? Create an account or log in if you already have one. Joining is fast, free and painless! We’ll even whisk you back here when you’ve finished.