should I go to college for web design?

[ww2airforce]

I am 19 and thinking of going to college for a bachelors in web design but I want to make sure that I am making a right choice.

I have three options right now

A few weeks ago someone offered me a job to design everything from shirts to websites. the pay is ok but I fear that I wont have a permanent job there and will get pushed down to part time.

I have also been thinking of doing free lance but I don't know that much about it. and don't know if it is possible to do it as a full time job. if any body can explain a little bit about it I would really appreciated it.


And then there is college. out of all of my skills this world gave me. My best are with photoshop and flash/html so I though I might as well go to collage for it.I just don't want to get a degree if it is really hard to find a good job after words.

thank you guys so much,
Mike Read (graphicselite.com)

[FlashLackey]

At 19... I say go to college. But, not for webdesign. Continue designing, etc. on your own. But, go for a degree in art history, communication (english, creative writing, etc.), architecture or something less specialized than "web design." "Web Design" degrees, from what I've been able to gather are really trade degrees that teach you how to use the tools and then a bunch of fruity ideas that are currently being debated and will probably just annoy professionals trying to meet a dead-line.

If you were a couple years older I would say just dive into the work-force. But, at 19, you should give college a shot, imo.

[ww2airforce]

what about Computer Science? I'm guessing that would be better?

[Napalm]

If you want to go to college, first go talk to people in the industry. Not everyone's course is equally good, and some are not even accepted within the industry. It could end up being a very costly exercise with no advantages.

[ww2airforce]

If you want to go to college, first go talk to people in the industry. Not everyone's course is equally good, and some are not even accepted within the industry. It could end up being a very costly exercise with no advantages.

thats what I was planning on doing here. I really dont know of any web designers that I can talk to.

[jasonsplace]

I'm studying Digital Media. It's interesting because I already love doing the Web Design part of it and it gives me experience in Video, Audio, 3D, Animation and other media related skill sets that I may be able to use in my sites and even if I can't at least it's usually pretty fun...I never did enjoy audio editing though.

[Googooboyy]

Yep, get a degree other than 'Design' to fall back on. If design is really in your red hot passion, then there shouldn't be any problem in you pursuing it without a degree. In this line, I'd say ability overrides certificates.

[Napalm]

thats what I was planning on doing here. I really don't know of any web designers that I can talk to.

You shouldn't really talk to web designers, you should talk to more on the level of Creative Director or higher, as they're the ones that will ultimately be hiring you.

[anroy]

At 19... I say go to college. But, not for webdesign. Continue designing, etc. on your own. But, go for a degree in art history, communication (english, creative writing, etc.), architecture or something less specialized than "web design."

I very much agree with this advice.

A good combination would be to study something more timeless (like the examples above), and do web design assignments on a freelance basis on the side if you need the money.

[Nogol]

i'm 19. i was gonna study psychology, but end up studying public relations, gonna change to graphic design in july.

i love to design stuffs, but i can't really draw by hand. i use computer a lot. and i have designed two websites (and i wasn't paid! ).
some people suggested that i should study Multimedia Design, which uses computer a lot. but i prefer graphic design. i can use those design skills in lots of ways, websites, print, t-shirts, brochures, and learn a little photography too.

[gerbick]

I'd say go to college for design at your age...

...and for spelling too.

[jAQUAN]

I agree with the majority. Get a business degree! Nothing is going to provide you the funds and freedom to pursue your real passions. As stated, if you really love design, nothing will stop you from getting good in your free time. But as I'm learning now, nothing is so valuable as knowing to manage your assets.

[FlashLackey]

Yep. Courses in fundamental disciplines are pretty much undoubtedly going to be helpful in some way. Trade degrees pretty much teach you the same thing you learn while getting paid, new at a job. I do a lot of hiring and collaborating with just about every skill-set in web and I can't recall anyone ever busting out with something valuable that they "learned in web design school." More often, someone makes a fool of themselves insisting on some document or process that they learned in school. Don't get me wrong. Some incredibly talented folks go through school. Just, by my observation, they don't do well professionally because of their schooling. It's because they were incredibly talented to begin with.

"Computer Science" is really just a fancy word to make a trade degree sound academic. Stick to fundamental academic degrees. Become a good writer, good speaker, good negotiator, evaluator, expert in art, etc. Those skills will go a long way toward a web design career (or another if you have to change).

[Extricate]

I would say, after going through some web design classes myself, that you should get a degree in Liberal Arts. This way, your skills and degree are more well rounded, and you learn alot more than simply focusing on one aspect of a career. College web design/development classes havent taught me anything I new. I was actually much more advanced in some classes, and had to "dumb down" in order to be on the same page as everyone else. It was a waste of time, and money...

[lefteyewilly]

ha! a waste of money would be getting just a liberal arts degree. You might as well just go back to high school if you're going to do that.

[jAQUAN]

Heh, an art degree would almost definitely get your resume tossed if I was hiring.

[Frets]

I have a tendency to laugh at people with communication degrees.

They are always the ones who don't know how to send or reply email.

What you will need in the big leagues. At least two programing languages
Even if you never use them. even if they are considered outdated.
If you want to take some art or graphic design classes that's fine

Sales.
Regardless of what field you are going into, everyday of your life you are selling something. A belief, an idea, a product. When you look for a job you are selling yourself to a potential employer.

Management.
Even if you work for yourself you are managing something. You manage your time you manage your resources, you manage your energy. If you report to someone they may not be as qualifed as you in what you do. They will have management experience. Having some knowledge in management will allow you to relate to your boss. You can express ideas in terms they understand.
It also gives you a stepping stone if someday you grow tired of what you are doing and want a promotion.

[Googooboyy]

Having more options than one is always good.

Do note that you're not going to be creating artworks/creatives and converting graphic files for the rest of your career. Fact is, you're gonna have to step up someday, like becoming the boss, and having a degree in the genre of sales/management will definitely increase your potential to.

[Saint Benedetta]

I was considering going to college to do design/multimedia/art. Instead of diving into a related degree, I chose two units - one multimedia and one art history. Multimedia was so boring but I did some interesting stuff, art history was great but yeah, agreed with lefteyewilly about the whole liberal arts thing. I decided to go to another uni which had some GREAT facilities and thought that it was the just the uni. Chose one multimedia unit and one communication design. Load of bollocks for me. Changed my major to media and communication which is media studies but has a focus on RL applications (cross between a business and a liberal arts degree) and it was pretty much the best decision I've ever made so I recommend it. Only issues I have is the fact that it's somewhere between a business and arts, more into arts, but I think that gaining experience before graduation, networking, good references, etc should do the trick.

I'm with jAQUAN, go for a business degree. I actually wish that I am doing a dual mediacomm and business degree but my degree has about 4 business units. I would definitely go for the dual if it weren't for the fact that they've changed the core units and I want to get out of uni ASAP (doing 5 units per semester and 4 during the summer). However, I'll see if I can go for an MBA after fulfilling its requirements. Business degrees that you may be interested to look into: marketing, advertising, entrepreneurship.

Edit:
But as some have stated, have design to fall back on. Heck, don't just 'fall back' onto it, go for your life and use it to your advantage - the skills, experience (ie client negotiation, communication, etc) is something that you can use as you are freelancing as well. I work for a project in a technology incubator and my background is art/design yet they've considered the undercurrent skills/experience/personal characteristics etc. (Hmm, having a bit of trouble typing with this cat sleeping on my arms!)

[Bowds]

Hey man,

I've been to uni, got my degree and worked at every level of the industry. I suggest you go to collage if you can. But the main thing is you get into design itself. Find out what the best in the industry are doing and learn from that, don't compare yourself to your classmates, but everyone. You won't really learn anything to specific at uni but it will get you thinking in the right way. It is a wicked industry to be in, but the key factor in succeeding is have your own goals, then figure out how to achieve them.