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Want To Become A Web Developer?
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So...you want to become a Web Developer?
As the web developer for a Career Services Center, I get a lot of questions from people who are interested in changing careers and want to become web developers. Many of the same questions come from students who are cutting their teeth on school projects and want to know what to expect when the reach they "real world."
Here are a few of the suggestions that I give. You may have additions or differences in opinion and I welcome them in the comments to the epinion:
1) Learn HTML. That DOES NOT IN ANY WAY interpret into "learn FrontPage" or "Learn Dreamweaver". These are code generators and, while valuable, are not the same as learning HTML. Take some time and learn the HTML tags and variables so that when you run into a problem, you can delve right into the code and fix it. Create a few webpages using Notepad (yes...I said Notepad). They don't have to be great, as long as they are functional.
2) Once you have learned HTML, learn Dreamweaver. Just pick up any want ads in the nation and you will see that Dreamweaver is the most sought after HTML authoring tool. Whether or not you think it is the best, employers want people who know how to use it. I would also recommend familiarizing yourself with one other authoring tool of your choice (i.e. GoLive, HomeSite, and yes...even FrontPage). The best way to familiarize yourself with Dreamweaver is to download their free 30-day trial at http://www.macromedia.com and then go through the tutorials. They are great and will introduce you to the menus, features, and capabilities of Dreamweaver.
3) Learn Photoshop and Fireworks. Why both? Because they are both great graphics manipulation tools that have different features. For instance, I often use Photoshop to create a new logo, button, or graphic and then use Fireworks to compress it into a nice, small file format that loads quickly. Photoshop and Fireworks are the most popular graphics programs out there. You can also download free trials of these programs at http://www.adobe.com and at macromedia's site. You might also take some time to familiarize yourself with Paint Shop Pro...another commonly used program.
4) Build some websites. Whether they are for personal use, for a friend, for a relative...whatever, BUILD! You are going to need to have some samples of your work in order to impress prospective employers. They aren't going to only want to see your latest and greatest, but some of you earlier work and, possibly, even some of you failures.
5) Learn about databases. The future of the web is in databases. Look at the number of businesses conducting E-Commerce on the web. How do you think you search their inventory? Or place things in your shopping cart? Or maintain a customer history? DATABASES! To start, learn Microsoft Access. While very few companies use this as their web interface, it is a good primer and will teach you the basics of tables, queries, etc... that you will need. Next move on to a higher-level database. If you know anything about UNIX, then learn ORACLE. Administering ORACLE databases on the web is one of the most sought after skillsets out there right now. If you don't know UNIX, but know the Windows environment, learn SQL. SQL is also very powerful and many companies use SQL tables to power their database-driven web aps.
6) Learn a Web Application Server. These are the programs that create the code that tell your web pages how to talk to your database. Essentially, your choices are Allaire's Cold Fusion, Macromedia's Dreamweaver UltraDev, or Microsoft's Visual Interdev. My recommendation is to go with Cold Fusion or UltraDev. Macromedia just released UltraDev as their replacement for Drumbeat2000 and it is going to be a big hitter in the next couple of years.
There are a lot of things that I didn't address here like Java, JavaScript, vbscript, etc... Along the way, you are going to have to determine which of these you need for your career path. This is NOT an easy road and there are going to be a lot of tough times where you run into design failures, creative blocks, and tricky code. BUT if you stick with it, you can also expect some great successes represented by nice web pages, satisfied clients, and a foothold in the web development arena.
Like I said before, I welcome comments and additions that might help someone in their pursuit of web development training. While this opinion doesn't have all the answers, I think it will get you started in the right direction.
Want To Become A Web Developer?
================================
So...you want to become a Web Developer?
As the web developer for a Career Services Center, I get a lot of questions from people who are interested in changing careers and want to become web developers. Many of the same questions come from students who are cutting their teeth on school projects and want to know what to expect when the reach they "real world."
Here are a few of the suggestions that I give. You may have additions or differences in opinion and I welcome them in the comments to the epinion:
1) Learn HTML. That DOES NOT IN ANY WAY interpret into "learn FrontPage" or "Learn Dreamweaver". These are code generators and, while valuable, are not the same as learning HTML. Take some time and learn the HTML tags and variables so that when you run into a problem, you can delve right into the code and fix it. Create a few webpages using Notepad (yes...I said Notepad). They don't have to be great, as long as they are functional.
2) Once you have learned HTML, learn Dreamweaver. Just pick up any want ads in the nation and you will see that Dreamweaver is the most sought after HTML authoring tool. Whether or not you think it is the best, employers want people who know how to use it. I would also recommend familiarizing yourself with one other authoring tool of your choice (i.e. GoLive, HomeSite, and yes...even FrontPage). The best way to familiarize yourself with Dreamweaver is to download their free 30-day trial at http://www.macromedia.com and then go through the tutorials. They are great and will introduce you to the menus, features, and capabilities of Dreamweaver.
3) Learn Photoshop and Fireworks. Why both? Because they are both great graphics manipulation tools that have different features. For instance, I often use Photoshop to create a new logo, button, or graphic and then use Fireworks to compress it into a nice, small file format that loads quickly. Photoshop and Fireworks are the most popular graphics programs out there. You can also download free trials of these programs at http://www.adobe.com and at macromedia's site. You might also take some time to familiarize yourself with Paint Shop Pro...another commonly used program.
4) Build some websites. Whether they are for personal use, for a friend, for a relative...whatever, BUILD! You are going to need to have some samples of your work in order to impress prospective employers. They aren't going to only want to see your latest and greatest, but some of you earlier work and, possibly, even some of you failures.
5) Learn about databases. The future of the web is in databases. Look at the number of businesses conducting E-Commerce on the web. How do you think you search their inventory? Or place things in your shopping cart? Or maintain a customer history? DATABASES! To start, learn Microsoft Access. While very few companies use this as their web interface, it is a good primer and will teach you the basics of tables, queries, etc... that you will need. Next move on to a higher-level database. If you know anything about UNIX, then learn ORACLE. Administering ORACLE databases on the web is one of the most sought after skillsets out there right now. If you don't know UNIX, but know the Windows environment, learn SQL. SQL is also very powerful and many companies use SQL tables to power their database-driven web aps.
6) Learn a Web Application Server. These are the programs that create the code that tell your web pages how to talk to your database. Essentially, your choices are Allaire's Cold Fusion, Macromedia's Dreamweaver UltraDev, or Microsoft's Visual Interdev. My recommendation is to go with Cold Fusion or UltraDev. Macromedia just released UltraDev as their replacement for Drumbeat2000 and it is going to be a big hitter in the next couple of years.
There are a lot of things that I didn't address here like Java, JavaScript, vbscript, etc... Along the way, you are going to have to determine which of these you need for your career path. This is NOT an easy road and there are going to be a lot of tough times where you run into design failures, creative blocks, and tricky code. BUT if you stick with it, you can also expect some great successes represented by nice web pages, satisfied clients, and a foothold in the web development arena.
Like I said before, I welcome comments and additions that might help someone in their pursuit of web development training. While this opinion doesn't have all the answers, I think it will get you started in the right direction.
Milind Audichya ( IT Professionalist)
+919913188848
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