Getting a Professional Web Designer Job: Education, Skills and Salary

Sunday, April 1, 2012
It can be fairly difficult to define "web design", because the phrase is occasionally used as a standard description of all aspects of website construction. However, frequently, the process of developing a website is split up into two groups: developers and designers. These individuals work closely together since a developer may need to code to conform to the designer's vision and vice versa.

A web developer is a engineer that addresses the code in the background. They typically deal with the back-end functionality including database interactions and do not manage the presentation level of the web page. These people most often have a University degree in Software Engineering or Computer Science. They are skillful in SQL, databases, programming languages such as Java and scripting languages like JavaScript and PHP.

In contrast, a designer works with the artistic style aspect of a webpage or a web application. This includes the design of artwork, layout, logos and much more. They ordinarily have basic knowledge of some of PHP, Javascript, HTML, CSS as well as other technologies utilised in front end development. They can additionally be strong in Photoshop and are artistically keen.

Though the previously mentioned holds true for almost all mid to large sized companies, smaller companies typically expect their web designers to do more than merely design. This might include using several front end scripting libraries. This means that it will be advantageous to know AJAX, PHP, advanced HTML or JavaScript so that you can potentially stand out from the other designers.

A number of designers do freelance design and contracting work. These individuals do not require a a college diploma or a bachelor's degree to acquire work as the quality of their portfolio alone could possibly get them hired for a non permanent job. Nevertheless, to acquire a job in a corporation as a professional web designer, guidelines on schooling and abilities tend to be more necessary. Professional designers do not require an official education/degree and may get away with having a assorted portfolio and practical experience. Nonetheless, it will look better on a resume to have taken some university classes or have a bachelor's degree. Based on salary.com, the average web designer salary in the US of a professional is $62,000. 56% of those persons have a bachelor's degree and 19% possess a certificate. So, although building your portfolio could be enough to obtain work, getting some education will definitely help.