Courses/qualifications

Pub07

Im wondering how you get into web design as a full time job, are there any web design/development specific courses (standard university or IT route/private colleges/online courses) out there or do you just branch into it after doing something like computer science? Are there specific recognised qualifications when it comes to web design?

John_Mc

Pub07 wrote: »

Im wondering how you get into web design as a full time job, are there any web design/development specific courses (standard university or IT route/private colleges/online courses) out there or do you just branch into it after doing something like computer science? Are there specific recognised qualifications when it comes to web design?

Although courses and qualifications will help, a portfolio of web designs conceived by yourself is the essential thing that will help you get a web design job.

Goodluck with it!

pauldiv

You can do 4 year degree courses on web development at colleges like Sligo but these courses also contain fluff that you will never use.

I second the above and think a portfolio of work is much more persuasive than a college degree.

You will also need a lot of self discipline to learn the technical and business skills and sell them to potential clients.

Dedication is what you need

Good Luck.

Skadi

A portfolio is a good thing to have. Offer to help people out with their websites. If you want to be a web designer you need to have graphical and programming skills. For me personally, i prefer to have someone else do the graphics, and then I change the design to suit the needs of the website.

Also depending on what route you take, get to know open source applications such as joomla and drupal.

p

Pub07 wrote: »

Im wondering how you get into web design as a full time job, are there any web design/development specific courses (standard university or IT route/private colleges/online courses) out there or do you just branch into it after doing something like computer science? Are there specific recognised qualifications when it comes to web design?

There's a big difference between web design & development. One focuses on visual layout, user psychology, typography, colour theory and branding. The other focuses on programming, algorithms, databases, servers and more technical stuff like that.

Any degree that teaches programming, like a computer science degree would give you a good foundation to become a web developer. Although I've known people to go from degrees like that into web design, they've had to teach themselves all the design side of things.

A lot of people get into web design from courses like Visual Communications in places like NCAD and IADT, where they learn a lot about how to really design things, though they tend not to focus on the web much, so people teach themselves HTML & CSS and other concepts.

Also, there's degress & masters in 'Multimedia' which tend to be somewhere in between. They tend to teach a bit of programming in Flash, but nothing hardcore. They teach a bit of design, and then do a bit of media theory. They're good because they're flexible, but they're bad because they're not dedicated to anything, so you're a jack of all trades afterwards. Good if you don't know what direction you want to go though.


As for getting a job, if you're a designer, it all comes down to your portfolio, but getting a good education and solid basic skills. For a developer having a degree is more important, and certs are more useful too in that field, though it's possible to get a job if you've a proven track record of developing sites for others.

Overall though, if you're interested in getting into web stuff, be it a developer or designer, the first thing you should do is learn XHTML & CSS. That is core for both people and is a really good foundation for getting a job with. If you're thinking about going to college i'd recommend it. It gives you a lot of time to think and develop and play with ideas and learn lots about a broad range of stuff. You'll rarely get that chance later in life, so take it with open arms! You learn far more when you have the freedom to mess things up!

niahgoe

Hi Pub07
I'm looking at doing the same thing. I have been an architect for the last 10 years and now find myself redundant with no prospects of a job any time soon with the state of the building industry. I was in with FAS last week and have found their online web design course which seems a good starting point. My sister and some friends are in the it and web design industries and have told me to go for it. There is also a classroom based course starting in august.
http://www.ecollege.ie/site/html/courses/courseOptions.php


once i have done the fas course i hopefully have a few websites to design set up, nothing big but jus a way of using what i have learned then there is a part time masters in digital media in dun laoghaire
http://www.iadt.ie/en/ProspectiveStudents/SchoolsCourses/SchoolofCreativeArts/MAMScinDigitalMedia/
There are minimum entry requirments but i have been told that with my degree and enthusiam in the interview you can usually get past most of these requirments
this part time course would allow you to work with the skills you have learned through fas while studying.
Web site design for friends etc and learning in the industry while learning on the course

hopefully this helps, i'm only new to this industry aswell so its only a starting point for me but it seems to be coming together quite quickly so maybe its the right starting point

MushaNow

Hi,

Anyone know of a good online course or part-time/evening course covering SOA & Web Services?

Thanks.

MelonieHead

Is it a bad time to start forging a career in Web Design? Are companies still using Web Designers? Or has the recession made companies less likely to pay for these services?

p

MelonieHead wrote: »

Is it a bad time to start forging a career in Web Design? Are companies still using Web Designers? Or has the recession made companies less likely to pay for these services?

It's going to be harder to get a break, but as industries go, web design & development are generally doing ok because it's still growing overall and people are looking to cut costs by doing things online.

If you enjoy what you do and you're good at it, then you'll find work in any sector.

BigPoppaFluff

Hello people,

I am thinking of applying for a FAS course in Web Design. I have had some bad experiences with evening courses in FAS as they were far too basic (photoshop)

Can anyone have a look at the specs on here and give me an opinion on how this course would suit a beginner?

Thanx

Poppa Fluff