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Web Designer Career

Neo didn't add this so I thought I would. I can't begin to tell you how many Emails we get from people wanting to work for Borde Global Impact Designs®. This shows how powerful the net is... They see our sites and think we are a million dollar company because of the kinds of sites we have produced over the years. We also get Emails about people wanting to get into the profession.

First of all I would like to make a distinction:
Web Master - anyone can be a web master, they simply have to design a site and be the owner of it.
Web Designer - someone trained on making a site look palatable from the end user's point of view using custom graphics and HTML/DHTML/Javascript
Web Developer - someone who usually develops back end (Server side) material to make a web site function. Some web developers are web designers too, but most are not.

Now the first one you won't earn any if much at all. The second one, web designer, is a struggling profession because everyone out there that 'thinks' they are a web designer, but all they really will ever be is just a web master until they develop their skills. The other reason it is a fading profession is because of all the back end scripts and programs that can create a site for you (See same problem in Artist profession). The last one, web developer, is growing and will continue to grow.

Money for the last one is high and growing each day... If you are a web developer for a casino site you could make quater million US a year for the least - and that is not a joke. For web designers it can be high too... About US$60-80,000 a year if you are working for a large firm. However if you are working on your own then it can be a struggle. Think wisely about the first two as the world is becoming highly saturated with web masters and web designers.

As far as studies go... If you are artistic and have a good mind for learning you can sit at home and become a very good web designer / developer, etc. However, if you are actually going to do business then you need to have a business mind. Take some courses in business as well as become certified in what you do, that way when it is contract time you have a solid foundation. Above all... Think like an artist if you are going to be a designer, think logical if you are going to be a developer and have sensibility when you are dealing with prospective clients.

Career Designer Web

So would you recommend learning php along with the knowledge of HTML? and what exactly do you use javascript for besides games on the net? is it necessary for being able to right a flash page?

Web Designer Career UFO & Writing Art Education Sciences

It depends on what aspect of web design you are going into, but knowing PHP is certainly an advantage, but it is not necessary for design or presentation, neither is javascript for that matter. Javascript is not necessary for Flash creation, but again it depends on what you plan to implement. The important thing to decide is if you want to work more on the behind the scenes or front view. After you have made that decision then you can specialize. Remember, like everything else, if you plan to make money from this then there is that element of business management which neither subject will teach you

Career Designer Web

Personally, I am more interested in the interface and front view of a website than I am concerned with the information that would be on the page. I figure I'd just be able to get the information from a company and then fix them up with a site that'd be so rad it'd impress people who are looking / checking out their site. problem right now is that I don't know flash that well...do you know if there is a "Flash for Dummies" book out yet?

Career Designer Web

There are books available for this, not necessarily a dummies version, but good enough. However, keeping on topic, if you wish to be a front end designer then just concentrate on presentation - this comes with practise as your own style will develop over time.

Web Designer Career

I think, especially for the design aspect, CSS - Cascaded Style Sheets must be a necessity now. All the 'new' sites are using it to increase there asthetic appeal like those shadows, text/background changes when you hover or click on a link, etc. From the developer viewpoint, it also makes the code cleaner, keeping the body of the page focused on the information, and the design in the background (using CSS).