[kcjsm]

Okay, this is a broad question that might seem ignorant but please give any / all advice you can. I have some experience just playing around with website creation on my own personal behalf and time, but what i really want to do is learn and get educated to become a website developer. What are the best routes to take to do this? I'm currently going for my Business degree at a local university but i dont really foresee that helping me a whole lot in this direction...I've thought about MIS but it doesn't seem very specialized toward this particular career selection. What are the best ways, in your mind, to get educated / certified / and just get the 'know-how' to become a professional? What do you guys think i should do? I've also reviewed some online courses - what do you guys think? Know of any good programs towards my goals? Please help, and much thanks =)

P.S. such as the WOW academy? www.webmastercertification.com 's WOW online courses? Are those credible ?

[cam]

If you're looking to get into the design side, then a course in graphic design would give you training in the fundamentals you'll be dealing with day to day, but i'm not going to start a debate here about whether design is something that can be taught or not, just pointing out that as "web design" matures each of us are getting more distinct roles to play.

Programming / markup + css are all technical skills and can be easily picked up if you're that way inclined. These can all be taught via courses, but I learned programming on my Computing Science degree and picked up the xhtml/css/standards stuff from reading online and just practising a lot.

One thing to bear in mind, and something i'm going through just now, is that no matter how good your technical knowledge, you'll still have a shitload to learn about actually working in the industry - working within a team environment, eliciting requirements, creating documentation, how to deal with clients .. the list goes on and on. That side of things is easy to forget, but just look at any job adverts in the industry and you'll see how much the decent-paying positions at good companies value experience.

Not sure if that really makes anything any clearer for you, but i'm sure others will add stuff i've missed.

Edit - Oh, and as for the "WOW Academy", just looking at their website is enough for me to say without any doubt that you'll learn fuck all useful from someone like them. The design is awful and the code looks like it was last updated around five years ago. Nearly all of their courses you could learn the same just from looking online or buying a few books.

[pgo]

I'm not a professional web designer/developer just yet.

I got my BFA in Painting & Drawing from this place, but, since web-related stuff is where I feel like heading in terms of a career, I sometimes wish that I had done graphic design instead.

However, I am one who believes that graphic design is something that can be learned (though talent makes it easier).

Like cam said, if you want to do development (code) then learn things like PHP, MySQL, XHTML/CSS, JavaScript, and the rest.

If you want to be a designer, take graphic design courses and study interactivity - especially HCI (human-computer interaction), which I took a course in and found to be revelatory. Learn tight XHTML and master CSS.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that what it says on your degree doesn't mean squat. If you're motivated to learn yourself, take some classes in the basics (if you like), read a lot of books - you'll be just as well educated as anyone else.

I still need to learn all the other things cam mentioned - versioning, working in a team, and so on.