Poll: How much education do you have?
Thursday August 16, 2007
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If you're a professional Web developer - in other words, you've been paid to do Web design, programming or content - I'm curious how much education you have. If you've never received money for your work as a Web developer, do you think your education is holding you back? or is experience more important? Those of you who are already doing this for a living, did you get a degree to do your job? How much education does it take to be a professional Web developer? And does it matter what your education is about?
Professional Web developers: how much education do you have? Remember, you can only vote once, so please read all the choices before you click one.
Comments
What I have learned with post-secondary education is that most do not keep up with the latest technology/what one learns turns obsolete very quickly. These days, one can learn up-to-date information online. With at least a foundation of learning what any post-secondary schools can teach and what a student keeping up with new thing happening in the “web design” field, a career in the field of training can come to pass. The point I am making: The education alone will not accomplish one single thing.
I know this because I have graduated with a certificate and three diplomas as well as holding a GPA each quarter of 3.xx and I have had not one single job interview. The American dream is still there, but how we get it has changed dramatically. As always, it is up to each and every student to succeed in life, getting a job included.
I agree with Brandon. I was having a conversation with my boss who recently hired a new web developer to back fill a contract. I asked him if he considered education as a plus. He said that he didn’t really care about education and that experience and personality were much more important. Education is usually just a foot in the door. I have some college as I take development courses of interest for learning, not for a degree. I’m not sure that I’ll ever have a “degree”, but I will always continue to be a student somewhere, whenever I find classes of interest.
Nevertheless, I’ve been in the IT field for over 10 years and although I’ve had gaps in employment because of the economy, I eventually manage to get jobs that “require” a bachelors degree or equivalent experience. In fact, most of the people I work with don’t have degrees either. If they do, it’s usually in English, Political Science, Biology, or something not even related to web development.
I currently hold down two Web Development jobs (one is part-time/telecommuting), along with independent clients. In my part time job, I am the only web developer/designer for a nanotechnology conference & expo, so I managed to work my way into a snug little position that doesn’t pay well, but helps make up the difference in the rates I used to get paid.
Brandon and Jason: you both make excellent points. When I was hiring Web designers/developers I cared a lot less about what education they had and a lot more about what skills they could demonstrate. The only reason I required a bachelor’s degree was because that was a company requirement for the level I was hiring at. I certainly never cared *what* the BA or BS was in - they just had to have one to get past the HR screen. (And, as Jason mentions, you can get past that screen if you have enough experience/knowledge - it’s just harder.)
After all, how can I demand a BS in Comp Sci when I, personally, have a BA in Linguistics, for Pete’s sake.
Of course, when I started doing Web development, images had not yet been added to the spec, so there weren’t any classes for me to take…
I have a 7 year old AAS in Networking. Being a victim of the IT economic downfall, my degree sounds more impressive than it is.
But I’ve always wanted to try freelance web design and am almost through this site’s basic HTML course (thanks Jennifer!). It seems to me that experience and gut knowledge means more in the IT industry than the diploma on your wall. I wouldn’t discount an education for education’s sake. But if you’re dirt poor like me, I guess self-taught is the way to go, eh?
I will also say that at times, the idea of freelance web design seems very easy, at others very daunting. I suppose it depends on how extensive your first few projects need to be.
Regarding your comment that your MBA is irrelevant, some business training or experience is helpful, especially when you’re up against a client who wants the web site to look like a pinball machine. Ask him what business case he’s prepared in support of his ideas and watch him stare blankly. Web sites need more business sense and less…you know…”oh, why don’t we do THIS!” (groan)
My own experience as a web designer has led me to conclude that I’m not going to push my little one to attend university. I’m proof that the right career for her may not have been invented yet. Not forcing her to be obsessed with her SAT scores from the age of 5 won’t make her any less accomplished - it may well make her ahead of the curve.