Web Design Degrees: are they essential?
One question that comes up every so often is whether you need a degree to get a web design job?
The short answer to this is: it depends!
THE TOP 3 FACTORS IN GETTING WEB DESIGN JOB
When I’m talking about a web design job, I am not talking about becoming a contractor or opening your own web design business. I am talking about going to work for some company.
Now that we’ve cleared that up, here are the top 3 factors:
- Design ability: can you make the web page look nice.
- Work experience: I’m talking about doing real commercial work; your own pet web projects don’t count.
- A Degree: some sort of IT degree is best but any degree helps.
How important the degree is depends on how big the company is. The larger the company, the more bureaucracy you will have to deal with … that means company policy will factor into this, and that usually means degrees are important.
That said, highly skilled and experienced people can get around this … even in the biggest of companies.
What about coding skills?
Some of you may be asking, how about knowledge of web standards, CSS, HTML? Sadly, the only people who care about those skills are other web designers and to a lessor extent, web programmers.
But why is this so … how can good technical web knowledge be so unimportant? The reason is simple my young weblings:
… the people hiring web designers are looking for design ability and not coding ability. After all, the job title is ‘web DESIGNER’ and not ‘web coder’.
Beyond that, most of the people hiring don’t have a clue about code. They may know a little bit about HTML and CSS, but they would probably have kittens trying to create a hyperlink!
Code-Monkey’s Can’t Design (typically)
Some people enter the web design world only to find out that they can’t design worth a dime … but these same people are typically much better coders. Or as I like to call them: ‘code-monkeys’
You see, if you are a born ‘code-monkey’, chances are you will never be able to design a good looking page … or draw a straight line.
From my 14 years experience doing design and web design work, I’ve found that design ability is something you are born with … you either have it or you don’t, and no amount of training or schooling is going to help you if you don’t have the talent.
With that in mind, it is important that you figure out where your strengths lie and play to them.
… if you are a code-monkey (as I am,) then you need to look into the profession of ‘Web Developer’ and forget about being a ‘Web Designer’.
Web Developer vs. Web Designer
What’s the difference between a web designer and a web developer?
A web developer is someone who builds web applications – sometimes called ‘database driven websites‘.
Esssentially, a web developer is concerned about the functionality of a website and not neccesarily the look. When I’m talking about functionality, I am talking about things like, contact forms, shopping carts and anything else that takes a website from just being a series of pages, to being an engine that preforms some task.
These types of sites are built using languages like PHP, PERL, Ruby and many others.
… read the article on database driven websites for more details.
THE WEB DESIGNERS DESIGN TALENT CHART
I’ve slapped together this web design chart that illustrates how talent relates to your potential of landing a good job. I’ve also included information on when PHP should be considered.
The trick is to figure where you stand on this chart!
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
October 23rd, 2006 at 10:52 pm
having learnt about what is the difference between web- desingner and developer. Can you throw more light on web developer.
which is leading — designer/developer?
October 23rd, 2006 at 11:18 pm
@Lavanya:
Check out the database driven website article I linked to and visit http://www.killerphp.com.
You said:
“Which is leading — designer/developer?”
Typically the web developer will command more money for their time simply because the learning curve to becoming a web developer is a little steeper.
Another reason why web developers do a little better (financially) is because of the perception that web developers are harder to come by because the work is much more complex.
Thought this is true to a certain extent, on the other hand, great web designers (underline: designers) are also hard to come by … the talent is hard to find.
Thanks,
Stefan
October 24th, 2006 at 6:32 am
Mmhh…Interesting…I always like to think I am both, because I mostly ‘work alone’, that ‘I am both’ is just an enigma I know. And after reading this I now know for sure! Sigh…
So what am I actually? I guess I haven’t decided yet…
October 24th, 2006 at 10:24 am
As an ex-Creative Director of international ad agencies I must assure you that good design CAN be learnt, from art colleges. If you are schooled in the basics of design you can make the right decisions. However, that won’t make you a great designer, just a designer. Great designers have that extra fire, just like great singers, etc.
Imagine you want a garden makeover. You need a gardener AND a garden designer. Sometimes they live in the same body, but very seldom.
And remember, a website is a Communication Device. That is its prime function. Always ask yourself how well it does just that.
And finally functionality. Can your Mother successfully navigate your site? If not, it’s back to the keyboard. You’ve failed.
Bless you all.
Anybody want to develope my site? I’m the designer (tee-hee).
October 24th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
What I think everyone needs to realize is that there is a difference between a web designer, a web graphic designer, and a web developer.
A web designer defines the site layout, structure, and functions. A graphic designer is one who develops the images and multimedia files that are used to create the user interface. The web developer is the person who writes the code that blends the functions into the graphic design.
Regardless of this important distinction – you do not need any formal education to do any of these tasks. Granted, education is a HUGE shortcut into understanding the best practices and principles behind them – but not absolutely necessary.
What is necessary is experience, skill, and the ability to earn your client or employers trust. If you lack any of these elements, then you will need an education to fake your way through a contract or career.
Experience and skill are obvious – the more the marrier. Trust, is the essential element. You can have all the talent and experience in the world, but if you cannot gain the trust of the person who is going to pay you, then you won’t have the chance to prove yourself anyway.
In this industry, selling your skills and experience only comes after you have convinced the client or employer that you can be trusted to carry out the task through the end.
October 24th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
@Michael Sherman,
You said:
“.. that good design CAN be learnt …”
This is one of the oldest debates out there: nature vs. nurture. This is something I studied at university where my major was psychology.
To the point:
Training can help develop ability (in any field) but it can only help so much. If you are far to the left (in the red zone) in the design continuum chart … training will not help much.
But if you are somewhere in the middle (you have some skill/talent,) then training can push past the ‘tipping point’, into the green zone of the chart where your design skills will be marketable.
-
I’ve been studying martial arts (kung-fu, Aikido, boxing etc) for over 25 years, and from that experience, when someone joins and is not a ‘fighter’, training will not help much.
They may get better but they will never be nearly as good as those who start with (even) just a moderate predisposition to the sport.
My conclusion:
Yes, training will help but if you suck to begin with, you will probably never get very good. When it comes to design, the important thing is to have that designers eye – the ability to look at a page and know why it looks good or why it looks bad. The training in art school can show you how to fix it.
October 24th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
You said
“Training can help develop ability (in any field) but it can only help so much. If you are far to the left (in the red zone) in the design continuum chart … training will not help much.”
I agree, I guess
but I have to say that most people would not bother training for something they had no aptitude for. I am an online communications designer who admittedly had a reasonably good ‘eye’ and ‘feel’ for the work way back when I started in graphic design (that was when we were still using lightboxes and press-type) but all the various courses & classes I have taken over the years (my formal degrees are in literature!) have been very essential in taking my skills to the professional level I now enjoy. I also don’t think a designer can be very effective without knowing how to code, at least at the basic level.
I’m not a big proponent of the supposed split between form and function, and in any case, many of my clients don’t have the budget to hire a web designer, a web graphic designer, and a web developer. I personally wish there was more ‘play’ between designers and programmers (both internally, within us & externally, between us), since we need to work together so closely… I’d love to be part of a studio that housed all three so that we could be resources for each other.
October 24th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
@Amy,
“all the various courses & classes I have taken over the years … have been very essential in taking my skills to the professional level I now enjoy.”
I agree, training is required to polish and develop talent … but you still need that talent.
My philosophy:
1. You should discover your talents and go with them! I believe that most don’t, and as such, don’t come close to their true potential.
2. You should discover / understand how you like to work, and then find or create a job that fits those working /living habits.
“I’d love to be part of a studio that housed all three so that we could be resources for each other.”
Very often, this is not the case. That is one of the reasons I say that web designers should learn a little PHP – it opens up so many possibilities.
October 25th, 2006 at 12:58 am
I learnt many things from this discussion but i am still left with some confusions . what does one need to expertise to become a designer,developer.
I hope css/html/php,etc makes a web designer
flash,fireworks makes a web graphic designer
then what does it make a web developer ? — java?
October 25th, 2006 at 2:45 am
For the long run a college degree is best! I have been in this industry over 20 years. I am not the “best” at any one technology but good at most and get help from others when I fall short……but my degrees have kept me qualified for high earnings and I can quickly master the next technology or trend that comes up.
I “develop/design” web sites (on the side) at a high premium only because I had to start teaching it and wanted my students to have an instructor that actually has clients. Yes, we can all take tech classes and teach ourselves new software and codes but the real $$ is in the “big picture” —
Just today in a “basic” lecture….I started having everyone do math…..yes, figuring out exactly how many pixels and graphing out where and what pixel size graphics would be depending on what size monitor that the “general or average user” would be looking at the site….which then led into surveying or knowing the culture of the client marketed by the site, etc. You will be a better web designer/developer if you have a good understanding of business, ecomonics, politics, etc. Marketing is key…..that is why the internet is here. ….again, a very big picture. A degree in computer science or AA with Computer Web Publishing will give you a more rounded education and better understanding and learning curve if new technolgies hit quickly.
A degree will always get, maintain a job, qualify you for the next level, and you won’t ever lose a job because you couldn’t go to the next level without it.
Agree with others….It would be wise to team up with partners that have “what you don’t.” If you are a “code-monkey” find a good marketing person and a good designer to keep the flare to your sites. If you have the style but can’t sit and code….find someone that enjoys working with code. Each of you take courses and become experts in your areas….when you are done with that, take the courses that your partner has mastered and help each other —
PS: Find a niche that you already are an expert at and only take those clients. You will get referred to everyone in that area.
October 25th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
@Lavanya,
You said:
“I hope css/html/php,etc makes a web designer”
It does indeed. Actually, when you get into PHP you are crossing over into the field of web developer.
Web developer comes from the simple term ‘developer’ – a name given to software programmers.
Thus a ‘web developer’ is someone who create software than runs on the web, typically using web technologies like PHP, ASP JSP etc.
October 25th, 2006 at 8:59 pm
Thanks for the information provided.
To summarize i hope i can put it this way
If i want to become a web developer or in the sense i want to code rather than design then i need to expertise myself on
1.html
2.css
3.javascript
4.asp/jsp
4. xml
5. php
in the order of priority . I hope i didnt miss anything .
Am i going in the right direction ?
October 26th, 2006 at 6:58 am
@Lavanya,
Close, but it is actually simpler than you think because:
asp
jsp
php
.. are all competing technologies. I would pick PHP because it is the most widely used of the bunch … by far.
I have a website dedicated to teaching php that you might want to check out.
October 27th, 2006 at 5:54 am
I agree with Prof Hayes. He talked about degree which will get, maintain and qualify you for the next level of a job.
The main thing is that, you should at all time seek for athat lad, whose expertise could complement yours and spur you to the next level which is the highest you could ever dream of.As far as web designing is concerned, no one is an Island.
October 30th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
ColdFusion is easier to learn than php, jsp, and asp. Its free to use/download just like the others. The only cost involved is related to the purchase of your own cold fusion application server – the developer version is free.
ColdFusion is tag based so it looks and feels like HTML but offers all the server side functions you need. Hosting services are wide spread and are very affordable. Everyone should at least consider ColdFusion over php, jsp, and asp.
October 31st, 2006 at 12:02 pm
Dont use cold fusion. You dont need to waste time learning it. there are few jobs that look for cold fusion comparing to php, asp.net . If you want to find a job asp.net c# and vb.net pay the most, and are in demand. But php ranks up there too, but 3rd world countries are taking all the php jobs, and making sloppy code, and bad impressions of code monkeys.
November 2nd, 2006 at 8:01 am
yes i agree totally i am a web developer not a web designer. My designing skills suck i just wish there was someone at my workplace that could do good design so i didn’t have to do half hearted horrible looking design
matt
November 3rd, 2006 at 7:46 am
Thanks for the great article it really got me thinking as I have been contemplating doing some actual training in webdesign myself.
I am completely self taught and although I sometimes think that is not a problem I certainly have my limits!
Thanks for the advice!
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:31 pm
[...] A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL FOR CODE-MONKEYS [...]
December 10th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
[...] I defined what a code-monkey is in a previous post. But in a nutshell, code monkeys are nerds who are inclined to code and not design. [...]
January 13th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I learnt Java from a few books to help out a friend and found that I had an aptitude for it. However, my degree is non-relevant (English Literature). I am unable to fund another full-time degree. Could it be possible to enter a career in web developing without a computing degree but through alterative routes?
January 13th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
@Gary,
With Java you *may* find some trouble getting work as someone new to the language because Java is now largely a language of the enterprise – large corporations.
That said, with some skill and a track record, you can develop a good career without the degree.
… I know of a few people who do very well and don’t have a computing degree.
-
I would consider looking at php because it is widely used by small and medium sized corporations (as well as large) and as such the barrier to entry is far lower .. easier to find work.
Since you know Java, PHP will be easy for you.
Check out my php tutorial site:
http://www.killerphp.com
BTW: I have a Java background and wrote Java for years to make a living – I have some perspective.
CIAO
Stefan
March 4th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Nice..nice post.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
I am not sure if this is the right page to ask a wuestion like this one. I am a college student, currently and Mass communication major and shepherd University in West Virginia. I am extremly confussed about te major that I should be focusing on. I would ultimiatly like to have a degree in Mass COmmunication with a minor in CIS or computer programming(code). I have been bounced around from degree to degee ranging from Mass OCmmunications, CIS, and even graphic design. I would like the opinion of someone in the field to help and guide me to the right path. Thank you for your time!
March 30th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I think you should figure out what you LIKE to do. Forget about the cash for now, spend time discovering your talent and you will automatically find where your focus should be.
So, how do you figure out what you like to do?
Answer: do stuff!
To see if you like design, design a web page.
To see if you like programming, learn a programming language and write some code.
etc …
You can learn programming here: http://www.killerphp.com
.. I created a bunch of free PHP videos.
IMHO, your problem is that you don’t know what you want.
Hope that helps,
Stefan
April 27th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Hello folks,
I’m a 41 year old elementary school teacher(burned-out,I should say) looking for a new career. I’ve been looking into web-design as a career. I’m too old for this?
April 27th, 2007 at 12:20 am
Addendum: At the end I meant to say, “Am I too old for this?” Darn whiskey!
Cheers.
April 27th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Hi Art,
Not at all. Web design is one of those careers that is great for all ages.
… I am actually working on a course that teaches you how to turn web design into a home based business.
In the meantime, you can learn the crucial basics here:
http://www.killersites.com/videoTutorials/videoTutorial.jsp
April 27th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Stefan,
thanks!
December 14th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Hi
I’m 18 yrs old and I’m currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science. But over the past few months, I’ve realized that software is not my cup of tea. And my grades haven’t been very good either.
I started designing web-sites about a year ago. I’ve already done some commercial work for a book publisher in the UK. And a couple of small projects here and there. I can code pretty well and my designs are too bad either. I’m more eager to learn php,mysql,asp,coldfusion etc(which aren’t included in my current syllabus) rather than C or C++ which I’m learning now. I’m contemplating dropping out of college and getting a degree in web-design instead. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life writing programs, I want to contribute something to the WWW.
What should I do?
March 31st, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Do what you like to do.
If you happy in your work, you will do well.
That said, I would look to PHP (www.killerphp.com) before giving up on programming … I think C++ is boring too.
Stefan
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I want to be a web designer. Does an Asso. of arts in information tech./ visual communication make sense? (Uni. of Phoenix, online.)