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Nick Strom
1,309 PointsWhen to start looking for a web design job?
Just had a quick question for those that have been around a while. I was curious when most of you think is a reasonable time to start actually looking for a job in web development. Don't necessarily mean an actual time frame, maybe the answer is "when -blank- comes naturally" or something along those lines. I'm sure it's different for everyone as well.
Short background info on my self if that helps answer the question. I have a degree in graphic design and am currently employed at a print shop. During school I did do an intro to web design and also currently working my way through the web design track here. Wasn't sure where in my track would be a good point to actually look for a job in the field since this is something that really you don't get better at until you're doing it on a normal basis.
Hopefully that makes any sense, I can try to explain it better if I need to.
1 Answer
Matt S
1,497 PointsMy take on your question:
a) Have a strong portfolio. Yes, you will see experience needed for even entry level jobs. That experience will come from doing web sites for friends' businesses, non-profits, etc. You can do every track on Treehouse, but it will mean nothing if you don't have your own site that showcases what you're capable of.
b) Web Design is limiting yourself, and companies want more versatile employees. If you want to open up more opportunities, you need to expand from just design. This means learning the "holy trinity" which is HTML/CSS/JavaScript. From there, look into a backend (server-side) language. Many will recommend Ruby as it is generally looked at easier to learn and get you running. There are literally thousands of websites that discuss what language to learn. Ultimately , it comes down to what you want to build. For example, if you know you'll get into apps, you would go for either Java (Android) or Swift (ios).
c) You can completely skip what I wrote above, and check out job listings running for a web designer and you'll see what skills/experience you need. But again, to open up more options, look into the development side as well. The job postings will give you the best idea of the skills you need; learn those skills, build stuff, and show it off.
A disclaimer: the above is what I have learned during my own research for the same query you have. Hopefully someone that has done it can add some more advice.