Moving Onward (Front-end web learning help?)
11 years ago
If you read my last journal, you may understand the context of what I'm doing here. Its probably something I should have done years ago. I'm doing my research to find out what my next best steps are. I've found some ideas to consider, but would like some help making a decision.
I'd still like to do UX/UI design one day, but it seems the demand right now is for those who have a strong foundation of front-end coding skills (at least this is what my job browsing suggests) or very strong well experienced visual design skills in a studio environment at the very least (which is hard enough to get in itself). As it stands right now, I'm in the middle ground of "I can do a little bit of everything and fill in the gaps by doing online research" which works for me, but it doesn't look appealing enough to employers. So I need to get really good at something and since programming seems to be something in demand as well as something I'm comfortable doing, I figure that route is best.
My concerns are still floating around, however. I know that even grade 10 students can program websites now. There's still going to be competition. But I gotta do somethin'.
In general I will be looking for something to teach me a solid markup of html/css (to enhance my existing knowledge), javascript, and possibly php, jquery, xml and MAYBE ruby on rails. Bonus points for SEO, mobile design, and browser compatibility.
So I'm looking at a few options:
a) Find a solid, year long or less program in a school to teach me some front end programming skills. I have found some programs that start in both January (online distance ed.) and September (in class).
Pros: It'll have stronger instruction and assistance and also keep me inspired with new projects and direction.
Cons: Somewhat costly and a large time investment.
b) Find a smaller online program with specialized instruction in specific languages. I've found some places like Udacity, Udemy, Learnable and Tuts+ that all have subscription based tutorials/lessons/videos.
Pros: Can work at my own pace/speed and get done quickly/cheaply.
Cons: No certification or well defined instruction.
c) Find some books to help support my own projects. I've found some from A Book Apart / A List Apart that are very good from when I read them in school. They have quite a few out now. There's probably tons of others on Amazon as well.
Pros: Inexpensive and provides good, organized documentation of hows and whys.
Cons: No instruction or direction.
d) Bootcamps? Something I've found recently.
Pros: Very fast and concentrated learning. Pretty quick learning curve.
Cons: Really expensive and the possibility of falling behind if not enough time is put in.
Ideally I'd like something that pushes just a bit further than your typical web design/development class to simply teach enough to build a basic website with interaction. I can probably do that already. I just need something to make me look more appealing and skilled to employers.
If anyone with web experience could give their two cents in any form, I'd love to hear it.
Cheers and thank-you.
I'd still like to do UX/UI design one day, but it seems the demand right now is for those who have a strong foundation of front-end coding skills (at least this is what my job browsing suggests) or very strong well experienced visual design skills in a studio environment at the very least (which is hard enough to get in itself). As it stands right now, I'm in the middle ground of "I can do a little bit of everything and fill in the gaps by doing online research" which works for me, but it doesn't look appealing enough to employers. So I need to get really good at something and since programming seems to be something in demand as well as something I'm comfortable doing, I figure that route is best.
My concerns are still floating around, however. I know that even grade 10 students can program websites now. There's still going to be competition. But I gotta do somethin'.
In general I will be looking for something to teach me a solid markup of html/css (to enhance my existing knowledge), javascript, and possibly php, jquery, xml and MAYBE ruby on rails. Bonus points for SEO, mobile design, and browser compatibility.
So I'm looking at a few options:
a) Find a solid, year long or less program in a school to teach me some front end programming skills. I have found some programs that start in both January (online distance ed.) and September (in class).
Pros: It'll have stronger instruction and assistance and also keep me inspired with new projects and direction.
Cons: Somewhat costly and a large time investment.
b) Find a smaller online program with specialized instruction in specific languages. I've found some places like Udacity, Udemy, Learnable and Tuts+ that all have subscription based tutorials/lessons/videos.
Pros: Can work at my own pace/speed and get done quickly/cheaply.
Cons: No certification or well defined instruction.
c) Find some books to help support my own projects. I've found some from A Book Apart / A List Apart that are very good from when I read them in school. They have quite a few out now. There's probably tons of others on Amazon as well.
Pros: Inexpensive and provides good, organized documentation of hows and whys.
Cons: No instruction or direction.
d) Bootcamps? Something I've found recently.
Pros: Very fast and concentrated learning. Pretty quick learning curve.
Cons: Really expensive and the possibility of falling behind if not enough time is put in.
Ideally I'd like something that pushes just a bit further than your typical web design/development class to simply teach enough to build a basic website with interaction. I can probably do that already. I just need something to make me look more appealing and skilled to employers.
If anyone with web experience could give their two cents in any form, I'd love to hear it.
Cheers and thank-you.
Plus I've also got a couple websites....
http://www.shadowwalkerslair.com/
http://corey.shadowwalkerslair.com/index.html
http://furry.shadowwalkerslair.com/index.html
(In construction) http://test.dancingphalangies.org/
I'm currently in the process of tracking down help sites to try and learn how to build pages that are responsive - ones that everything shifts, pictures shrink, ect - when viewed on mobile devices like tablets and cellphones.
Personally, most of what I know came from learning it myself via books and online pages like http://www.w3schools.com/ I have taken classes in collage, but they were extra classes outside of classes for my major. Mostly to make sure I was completely current. But that's me. I learn better on my own and by doing than I do anything else.
When you're in the visual arts/interface/design world, experience can be considerably less formal. Providing a few links to various web pages you have designed (something for friends, local community groups, or anything like that) can let your work speak for itself. That way, the 'experience' everyone seeks is there staring them in the face, and it doesn't matter so much that it wasn't a paid position.
Your C option is probably closest to this. Do as much learning as you can, but produce something tangible that an employer can browse. So long as you've got a degree in the general area (which you do) for a foundation, extra certificates and papers don't mean all that much. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. In the business world, its always the end result/product that matters - so if your sample material shines, it speaks highly for you all on its own.
Best of luck!
I'd recommend against choosing school / classes just on the basis they give a certificate. If you are looking for a job, your employer will not care what certificates you have. They will ask you to show them your portfolio, of sites you've built, probably explain the thought process behind the design, UI of a particular project. Experience and references are what's going to sell your expertise more than any certificate ever will.
The reason for this is simple, schools are often behind the times when it comes to technology, they simply are unable to keep up. So they will give you a basic, workable knowledge, then they give you a certificate. Having a piece of paper saying you finished a course or a set of classes but having no real portfolio to back it up tells only one thing to an employer; You have no experience, you are cheap to work with where a solid portfolio showcases your expertise and makes it clear you are a professional who knows what he is doing.
I'd strongly recommend lynda.com, you can get unlimited access to a huge set of resources for $35 a month (or $25 a month if you are fine with working without exercise files). I'd very strongly recommend lynda over udemy or the other sites you listed on the basis of the training videos having much higher production value there. Good camera, good microphone, instructors who speak English well. On Udemy it's a bit of a hit and miss, I had to refund more than one course because of a thick eastern accent and poor grammar that made the whole course un-watchable and / or difficult to understand.
In my experience what they find attractive is essentially initiative and self sufficiency. The easiest way to show this (other than experience) is by making the effort to teach yourself and more importantly, apply it. If you don't have any sort of project you can contribute to, make something for yourself like a to-do list program, or a portfolio site with a backend in php.
This may seem like a daunting task; but once you're familiar with the basics of scripting, you can frequently find enough tutorials and examples to work your way through many real world applications, like a gallery site. And in the real world, things aren't as cut and dry as just learning a laundry list of technologies - you'll more likely find yourself using the jquery $.post() function which would in technicality probably include javascript, jquery, ajax, and json all at once without too much learning.
Something you may want to consider is going through a contracting company. It may not be the most ideal long term (as they take a cut of what you earn) but pay is still very good, and you can quickly build a nice list of projects that look shiny on a resumé.
Cheers
I dont think there are any academic teaching that would allow you to become really efficient in that area, mostly because technology advance faster than academic course can be made.
not that I frown upon academic, but if you do it, it will only be for the paper you get at the end, not for the content of it (well, mostly, you will get the basic and some training with some scripting language, which is never a bad thing, since most scripting language are close enough so any experience in one can be used, at least partially, in another).
imo the best way to learn is to try to realize real projects/code