<p>I'm asking this on behalf of a friend. He's working on a non-transferable 2-year web design degree and doesn't plan to go to school after that, at least not now. Maybe he'll find a decent paying job, but I'm skeptical because most jobs require a 4-year degree. Strange enough, there are no 4-year degree programs for web development that I know of. I've checked numerous schools and there's a school called Full Sail that promotes a BA in web development, but after I looked at their curriculum guide, there were only enough classes to cover 2 years.</p>
<p>Is there anyone here who has only a 2-year degree in web development and was able to make a decent income?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure there are lots of 4-year programs. Many are probably called things like ‘digital design’ and ‘multi-media design’ and probably are broader–covering more than just web design. Or there may be a web/interactive track under the graphic design program.</p>
<p>Web Development skills are very practical and in demand. If your friend is learning up to date programming languages, there is a good chance he/she can find work. Is your friend doing any internships? That might be the way to get a foot in the door. Web Developers can work freelance as well. Have your friend contact local design studios and send out a resume/portfolio of work. There is a guy who wrote a book called Program or be Programmed who talks about how important programming knowledge is becoming in our world and sees it as an ability that will be on par with reading in the near future.
[YouTube</a> - SXSW 2010: Program or be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age](<a href=“Program or be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age | Interactive 2010 | SXSW - YouTube”>Program or be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age | Interactive 2010 | SXSW - YouTube)
As for income level, to start it won’t be high but if your friend is pretty sharp and becomes and expert in the more complex languages (Drupal, Flash etc) they could earn up to $75/hr.</p>
<p>I just reread your initial post and notice you used two different terms. Web Design and Web Development. Though they overlap and most designers these days are learning HTML and CSS…a web developer is different than a designer. Ask your friend what the focus of their program is. If it is design I would say that two years is not ideal for a thorough education…but if your friend is naturally talented and extremely focused it could be enough to get them started. If it is focused on Web Development and the curriculum takes them through all of the important programming languages, then it most likely is sufficient. Think of it more like a trade school.</p>
<p>I should’ve said web development degree. I know there are 4-year digital design degrees, but none (that I know of) for web development. I am concerned because I know a lot of employers discriminate against people who don’t have a 4-year degree.</p>
<p>Web development is very hot now, but while web design experience is definitely a plus, knowledge in the areas of programming and especially database queries are where the big money is. A functional, well-designed website is one thing. A dynamically-generated webpage is quite another. Your friend will need to go cross-discipline and learn a good fourth gen programming language like ApEx (from Oracle) and the underlying Database-centric SQL to be instantly in demand.</p>
<p>I’m not recommending ApEx, just using it as an example of a rapid dynamic web development environment. There are many programming languages that are in current demand from Java to Ruby to ASP.NET. The thread that connects them all, however, is SQL and databases.</p>
<p>As a web developer for more than 10 years. I think UI design (user interface design focus on picture color, the page presentation) and it is separate from web developer.
wen developer is easy to find job even now. nor sure about UI designer. This is only based on my experience which is limited since I am lazy, didn’t jump on different jobs.</p>
<p>If you want to go out and get a job with only a web design degree than you will still make ok money. But if you want to make really good money it is always a good idea to get a degree from a school that has a good reputation. The possibility is out there to also get an associate degree from one school and then get a web design degree from another school.
just take a look at this, [Web</a> Design Degree - Web Design Degree Classes Online - Sessions College for Professional Design](<a href=“http://www.sessions.edu/degree-programs/web-design]Web”>http://www.sessions.edu/degree-programs/web-design)</p>