London Course Recommendations

Don't be fooled by certified courses. Your better off learning the skills you need and then putting a portfolio of 5 or 6 varying sites together to show employers.

There isn't a governing or regulatory body that can hand out qualifications per say. Closest thing you can get is a degree in computer sciences or something similar.

This is just from my research into web design & dev and reading through job advertisements. No advert says we require x, y and z certificate. They all say experience in a, b and c language and we want to see a portfolio for proof.

Hey Matt,

Thanks for your advice. Thats really helpful. What in your opinion do you see as the most critical languages to learn? I know CSS and HTML quite comprehensively, and basic PHP, JQuery and JavaScript. I've also made a basic website as well.

Joe

From what I've learnt about web design/development so far, qualifications aren't always the be all and end all for getting a job. Depending of course on what area you want to focus, you should always be able to 'show' your skills off. A portfolio of your work is a 'must'. There's no better way to show potential employers, or clients (if you go into freelancing), you know what you're doing than with visual representation.

What in your opinion do you see as the most critical languages to learn?

Depends which area you want to work in: (a rough outline) Designer = Adobe Suite, some HTML/CSS, etc. Front End Developer = HTML, CSS, Javascript, Jquery etc Back End Developer = PHP, MySQL, Java, etc.

I think when it comes to what language you want to excel in, that statement itself defines what you should do.

Are you an artist? Do you have the creativity and artistic talent to design sites and content? If not, then look at the more engineering end of the website which is the front end and back end development. Then you need to decide do you like making the UX UI (what users interact with) or do you like making the site functional and slick for future administrators to use.

As a freelancer, I don't think you can go wrong with knowing HTML5, CSS3, jquery, php, mysql and ruby. Throw a bit of wordpress in there which is all php and mysql basically, and you'll have a good set of tools to go out there and earn a decent living.

In terms of money, it appears developers earn more then designers and back end devs more then front end. Senior dev roles are advertised for around £40,000.00.

Freelancing is a cut throat game, you'll be one of 20 - 50 people pitching for a £300 job, so you need to be able to show clients what you've done and what you're going to do for them. A bit of Adobe CS comes in handy there.

£300 job? Don't under value yourself/your time/your skills :)

I have seen offers on job freelance sites of $50 and $100 for a complete website that takes at least a week to program and graph up.

:-(

It's those kind of sites (job site) which are damaging to this industry. As a freelancer I would recommend still trying to find/gain clients directly, as they'll be a better prospect in the immediate, and future.

I think I'm right in thinking that a day rate of £300 is acceptable for a good dev designer.

For £300.00 I'd be using code I already have and tweaking styles to meet the clients needs. Wouldn't expect to spend more then 1 day on it. Typical site it homepage, blog, about, contact and 3 or 4 sub page for a gallery. No ecommerce All done through html, php and css.

Guys thanks for all your messages. I would be lying if I said you hadn't put me off it a little haa. I mean I really enjoy doing it, I find it actually quite addictive, but may not be worth the effort maybe, i'm not sure?? Have you guys ever worked for a web development company before? Does it pay better??

I think it's quite interesting how all developers are facing the same problem. It seems the industry has be de-valued in some way? I think developers in developing countries are making social networks for £5 might be the problem. The question is then, how can developers differentiate themselves from the ridiculously cheap? and effectively get people to spend a more on their site?

The only way you can step out of the crowd is by experience and quality of work. Some say it takes at least 10 years of daily coding to become a good programmer.

This site is great. I love the teaching. It's fun and good quality.

But don't think you can watch a few 100 movies and become a good developer and be on a pay level compared to people with 10 years or more experience under their belt and numerous heavy coding projects.

You will be a programmer watching these movies. But one that has to compete with the 'I code sites for $100 a week' programmers (who might also have years of experience in doing that)

@Joe Li - Benefits of working in an agency are that you are guaranteed a wage at the end of the month/week. Where as freelance you need to have some financial security for those times when you have a lull in income. That said, you shouldn't be put off from your aspirations. If you want to achieve, and put your mind to it then you can make a living doing the job you're growing to love! There are many, many designers/developers out there who haven't been doing it for 10 years yet are able to support their living, family etc. and not live on the dole line. You just need to put enough effort in.

With regards to the £300/$100 site jobs, yes you will get students/veterans who will take this work on, but you'll also find that there are clients big and small who are willing to invest in their online identity, and now the importance of doing so. Some deals will be worth a £1000, others will be way above that. The more you grow as a designer, the more opportunities will come to light, as long as you put in what you aim to get out.

DO not lose faith and don't be disheartened. There's a reason we're all on Treehouse, and it's not so we can all make $100 sites.