A good jump off point

Time for a change

[greywinds]

I've worked in the Information Technology industry for about six years now, mostly doing front-end break/fix stuff. More often than not I've had positions as support representatives, doing everything from building PCs to remotely fixing SQL databases via Unix.

I've grown a bit weary of being in the trenches, so to speak. I've been trying to find a niche for the past few years, and I believe I have found it with web design. I'm still a novice but I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of creating an attractive and functional website. And as some of you saw in my recent CSS post, I am still learning but I learn quickly.

I'd like to make the jump from support to web design, but I have been out of circulation for awhile. (I was laid off last year and have been home with my son ever since.) I suppose I'm looking for the advice of those of you who are out there doing web design work professionally, either on your own or for a business. I have a technical degree in networking, do you suppose it's worth it to go back and get degree in web design as well? Would a few technical training courses and some proven websites be enough to validate my skills? (Some of this is subjective I know; every company is different, so I'm looking for different opinions.) And for those of you who work for a business, is the money comparable to working in support ($40-45K/yearly)? What skills would be most valuable to obtain first?

I know these are all kind of subjective depending on your specific circumstances, and that every company is different. I'm just trying to get a broad picture so I can decide what my next should be. I'm willing to put in the time to learn, but I want to be practical about it. :) Thanks!

[Pikin_It_Up]

I would forget doing a degree. I have found that the best way to learn is to actually do it.

Brett made a post recently offering a job at this forum. At the end of the post, he said that qualifications mean nothing. I think that most companies would feel the same.

Web design is such a fast moving industry, that once you have got your qualification, the techniques you have learnt will probabally be out of date or old-hat.

Produce some good examples of you work and upload them to an online portfolio to show people what you can do.

In terms of money, it's difficult to say. If you are a success, you could earn a lot. If you aren't then you could earn nothing.

Good luck!