This is the first of a new series of podcast that I am creating called: ‘Ask a web nerd.’
Not the greatest title, but I hope it tells something about this series; I will be answering common questions put to me by people everyday. Questions about anything regarding web design, web programming, getting into the web design game etc …
In this podcast, I will answer a common question put to me every so often:
Do you need to go to web design school, or college, to become a professional web designer?
The podcast:
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
August 2nd, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I am so glad you made this post, because I strongly believe that school can be over-rated. I know it is the structure and that is what most of us need. I know I would do better if I had deadlines on learning. But everyone’s success is in his or her own hands. Some very successful people I know thought school was a waste of time. Thanks for the post.
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Teresa,
I can think of a few successful people who did not complete school:
- Michael Dell
- Bill Gates
- Steve Jobs
… Need I say more?
Stefan
August 4th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Enjoyed this podcast.
I covered some web design / programming during my degree in Computer Network Tech but my career as a web designer has happened through seeking out online tutorials, the occasional book, and building up my knowledge over time.
I have done the odd college course but in general I feel that by the time a college course gets the green light and is rolled out, the information is slightly out of date. Unless the tutor / professor is really on the ball, you’re not going to find out about the latest tips, tricks and IE hacks (thankfully not so necessary now) that simply subscribing to a dozen or so RSS feeds can give.
My 2-year web design position at a small marketing / design agency happened because the boss liked my portfolio and I was able to go to the interview and carry out some tasks to show my aptitude. Subsequently (via redundancy) I’ve started my own web design business and the only thing holding me back is under-quoting jobs and project slippage, neither of which would have been covered in a web design degree (unless they had a business module?). A formal education is definitely not essential in this field. It would help stop some bad habits though (structure is important).
August 5th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Hi Grant,
You said:
“I’ve started my own web design business and the only thing holding me back is under-quoting jobs and project slippage, neither of which would have been covered in a web design degree”
Yea, common story. I will be covering quoting in an upcoming session of the my ‘Business of Web Design’ series:
http://www.killersites.com/magazine/category/web-design/business-of-web-design/