A little advice needed

[ace_tweety]

Ok, here we go! *Deep breath*

As u all know I left my job as a waitress and ive been looking for a new job ever since with not alot of luck. So i am trying a new strategy. Im thinking of going back to college and doing a web design course (i have done a basic one before in which i was top of the class and over exceeded the pass requirements.) I do like web design and think it would be a good career move.

But im not sure how hard it is to get a web design job after i have left college with qualifications. Or even how to go about finding a job in that line of work.

Im just worried that if i do this course it will be another year wasted (just like the last course i did).

All suggestions welcome. (Thanks in advance)
____________________
Suzuki SV 650 (blue of course!)

[gmanxiii]

hmm... i feel a lot of web design courses are a bit of a waste of time, thing is its one of them disciplines that everyone can dabble in. Same idea as how microsoft word now means anyone can now be a typist these days. Obviously theres still plenty of room for specialist web designers and typists but webdesigners generally come from other backgrounds (i.e. programming, graphics, etc etc) and kind of mix it up.

What qualifications do you already have? maybe its worth going straight into uni and doing a course there?
____________________
I kills hondas

VFR400NC30 > ZZR600 > CBR600FX > CBR1000rr

[ace_tweety]

quite a few but not enough for uni
____________________
Suzuki SV 650 (blue of course!)

[Bendy]

Web design gigs generally come more from a portfolio than from formal qualifications.

[gmanxiii]

well what else do you enjoy doing? ive got a few mates who didn't go to uni or college, they took some evening classes in photography so something a bit more hands on, one of them freelances now. Im not saying do photography, just something you enjoy. With the web design course im guessing it'll be foundation stuff and will show bits of all areas of web design. its more likely to be used as a stepping stone into other courses. Problem with web design is that it can be split up into so many areas. Web designers generally fall in 3 categories,

1) those that design the look but rarely program

2) those that program but dont bother with the look as much,

3) those that do both

Then you have flash designers, css and backend developers etc etc all depends which area you want to specialise in. if you want to be more visual, i'd do the web course maybe brush up on some graphics skills too to complement it. If you want to geek it up instead complement it with learning to code. Most commercial sites are built in teams these days rather than one person who does it all.

Getting a job wise, get a few small sites done so you have something to show to prospective employers. Even work you do on the course you could add into your portfolio.
____________________
I kills hondas

VFR400NC30 > ZZR600 > CBR600FX > CBR1000rr

[J0Al1]

Good luck with your mission.

I decided to leave my job and do a Learning Tree web development course (XML, javascript, HTML). It was the biggest waste of 3.5k ever! Thats was 7 years ago and I would say I did it too late.

I'm not saying don't. I'm just saying what the others have said, there are loads of people that can do the basics.

[Jull]

My local college had an open weekend and are enroling now for September.

I would image that most colleges are doing the same at the moment, pop down and have a look at what they have to offer, something you hadn't considered before may take your fancy.