Jobs/careers/ WEB DESIGN? advice please?

Question

i'm 19 years old. i have 10 gcse's. a national diploma and nvq level 2, in random irrelevant subjects. i currently work in a retail store managing/processing stock reports. its a lot of work and responsibilty but the pay isnt fantastic and i'm fed up with the rubbish unsociable hours. i have never known what i have wanted to do job/career wise but feel i need to get my backside into gear and sort something out as i am fed up worrying about wether or not i have enough money to live off till i next get paid. ive been looking on a college website at part time courses in IT. i was wondering if web design was a good choice. does anybody have any experience of working in web design. what do i need to be good at? is it worth doing and can i easily get a job after being qualified in it? any advice, help, suggestions will be much appreciated!

Answer 1

A career in the Web Industry is a good one, IF you can get work.  The job market is SO saturated, that it's difficult landing jobs- especially while you're trying to build up your resume/portfolio.  Most people I know end up working for free, for a year or two before they get enough work to show prospective employers.  

If you've got experience, it's much easier to land the jobs.  However, with all the out-sourcing to India and China, it's tough to get a decent wage out of it.  There's always a developer out there who will be willing to do the same job for a fraction of what it should pay.  

Answer 2

Web design requires a good to excellent knowledge of computers, how they work and howdifferentt programs work. You will also need a creative side, and the ability to work with lots of different people, from your employer, tocollege *** and customers.You wil need a good understanding of design concepts, how to use programs such as photoshop and high end graphic products. I'd go to the library and look at some books and see if its for you. You won't need a whole lot of previous experience for a course in web design but they do usually ask for a portfolio to show what you can do, it doesn't have to be web based, you'll just need to be able to show your creative skills. Its not an easy field to get into after leaving college, it has been popular for years and there does tend to be more qualified people then there are jobs but even if you start off small maybe creating webpages for friends and family on a comission base and go from there!