Just a little commentary - how do you all feel about the matter?

 

http://www.acuitydesigns.net/do-you-need-a...e-to-freelance/

I think its a question that alot of people ask; alot of people think if they can use one or two programmes in html or photoshop that constitutes being a designer, thats the difference between professional and non-professional i guess. I reckon alot of us could recognise the difference and our sales figures should show us that, it just degrades us a little as at the moment the general consensus on design is everyone is doing it

Just a little commentary - how do you all feel about the matter?

 

http://www.acuitydesigns.net/do-you-need-a...e-to-freelance/

 

Having secured multiple web design jobs in the past without any degree (I had been to Uni, but quit the course after a year) and only self-taught skills, I can safely say that you don't need one to get a corporate job. Freelance is even less of a problem as you're your own boss and ultimately getting jobs based on raw-skill, word of mouth and your portfolio.

 

However, last year I quit my web design job, put my freelance on hold and enrolled at Bournemouth University to study Interactive Media Production. Why would I do that if I already had my dream career in my sights? It's easy really. The overriding reason for going to University (again) was for the experience and shear not wanting to regret the things I didn't do. Eris can certainly vouch for me in that going back into higher education was an incredibly tough decision, one that I didn't feel entirely comfortable with right until the week before enrolling. The other reason for wanting to go back to uni was that I really wanted to expand my skills in other areas away from web design, such as video editing and animation. I felt that going to Univeristy was the best option for getting all of that in one go with the added bonus of having the University life tied in.

 

All in all I feel that University is not a necessity for freelancing, but I would definitely consider going for the life experience and non-business related skills you'll pick up along the way.

The rise of shared information on the net has promoted the need for 'hooks' over 'books'. By that I mean that before the internet, knowledge was shared through printed books. Now it is shared in real-time globally. The problem now is the shear amount of information. Thus the need for 'hooks'. Hooks can be any things that lead you to find out more about a subject. Examples are bookmarks, search terms, links etc. Knowledge can now be accessed from any hook as they are all inter-connected.

 

My bookmarks are now a more important source of information (and knowledge) than my entire collection of books.

 

I learned everything I know about graphic and web design from the net and my own practice. Given the future possibilities of knowledge acquisition, degree courses will have to adapt by justifying their expense (in time and money) or they will become irrelevant.

All the masters studied!

 

Beethoven studied under Hyden, da Vinci apprenticed under Andrea di Cione to give just two examples.

 

The masters, are called masters because they mastered their art, through continues study and practice.

 

My question is then, does a three or four year degree make a master of web design? I doubt it! Regardless of the training, the difference between amateurs and masters would be the amount of time spent perfecting their art.

 

If you are really good at what you do, constantly spend time improving your skills, know your weaknesses, work diligently towards improving on these areas, and have the intent and drive to succeed then it does not matter what your training.

I personally think that a degree shouldnt be needed, and a good portfolio are better.

 

However all the local companies seem to disagree, as when i went to get jobs as a junior-mid level webdesign, they wanted a stunning portfolio, graphical design degree and computer science degree (2 degrees for a job that pays 14k a year?

If you know what you're doing and you are successful in what you are doing, I don't see how having a piece of paper can add that much weight over commercial experience. I know a lot of people that have gone to university and now got jobs working in their local Tesco or whatever simply because they have little to no commercial experience.

great opinions. I like what Sam had to say -

 

I know a lot of people that have gone to university and now got jobs working in their local Tesco or whatever simply because they have little to no commercial experience.

 

And it made me think, which is better, 3 years of uni learning about design or 3 years of going freelance learning about design. There will be good and bad points, I suppose at uni you will learn everything even things which dont seem relevant at the time but very little real world xp, where as freelance you will learn what you need to to survive as well as real world xp and how the world works... lol.. my 2c

This is a good topic of conversation for myself currently being at university studying for a degree in web design and have been thinking about this..

 

I think that university is a good experience and is good to teach you server side languages and some of the harder languages to learn (IMO). Most people can pick up CSS + HTML from web tutorials or books and abit of javascript but for PHP, ASP. Ajax, Perl, MySQL languages like that I think it is better to be taught. Thats why I decided to go because I wanted to learn these languages but am dissapointed from the first year as we have just learnt CSS + XHTML basically with a tiny bit of php.

Hopefully within the next 2 years plus a year of placement I will learn these languages well.

Also a placement is another aspect why I wanted to go to university, to get some real life experience whilst learning and widening my skills.

 

On the other hand since joining this forum I have realised how important experience,portfolio's and skills are. I do think that gaining some experience of dealing with clients whilst at university is necessary as the lecturers have been out of the industry for at least 5 years and things have dramatically changed over these years in technology and will continue to do so I feel.

I think personally if I can build a portfolio and get some client experience plus have a degree it will be the best way to go if I want to work for a company. Which raises another point for my life and path do I freelance or work for a company coming out of uni?

Can I expect to earn a steady salary as a freelancer and if its steady will it be a good salary, I mean by good salary steadily growing as I get more experience?

 

 

I have many decisions still to make but I am still very inexperienced and learning everyday e.g. they haven't taught us about SEO but I think this is a big part of what a business client would want and I only learnt about this through the forum the other day. Thats just my opinion and my reasons for university.

I dont really think it makes a difference, all depends on the person and how much dedication they put towards it. Whereas somebody who is studying web design for a degree will obviously have a lot more time on it, I would argue that there are people on this forum who are 14/15 years old who have a natural artistic talent when it comes to the web design.

 

So no, depends entirely on the person's creativity in my opninion.

Which raises another point for my life and path do I freelance or work for a company coming out of uni?

Can I expect to earn a steady salary as a freelancer and if its steady will it be a good salary, I mean by good salary steadily growing as I get more experience?

This all varies on waht you do, and how you do it. I intend to get a large advertsiing campaign going for myself, leaflets, t-shirts, posters, radio ads, newspaper work. Anything i can do to generate work, but if i dont get it, then it is a risk.

 

there is a always a risk, so you have two options - To try or not to try, you may do well, you may not, but the only way to really find out is to jump in with 2 feet, and hope you've got a life jacket incase something goes wrong.

 

Reaper

 

PS: does anyone know any good universities for studying webdesign or a distance learning course? im looking into it, but am unsure as of right now. The only reason i am considering it, is so that the clients can see that im qualified, and if i intend to get a house, having a steady income from a salary job, and as i said, all of the local companies seem to want alot of qualifications.

You don't need a degree to be a designer - but it's a good opportunity to have the space and resources in which to study the topic from a pure perspective. Having said that, most art colleges tend to be a big knees up and snogging festival, so I don't think they really provide that environment. No fault of their own, but at school leaving age, you're too busy growing up to invest any serious thought in design (IMO).

 

What is required is perseverance and application of your mental focus to the task(s) at hand. Then you will learn.

This all varies on waht you do, and how you do it. I intend to get a large advertsiing campaign going for myself, leaflets, t-shirts, posters, radio ads, newspaper work. Anything i can do to generate work, but if i dont get it, then it is a risk.

 

there is a always a risk, so you have two options - To try or not to try, you may do well, you may not, but the only way to really find out is to jump in with 2 feet, and hope you've got a life jacket incase something goes wrong.

 

Reaper

 

PS: does anyone know any good universities for studying webdesign or a distance learning course? im looking into it, but am unsure as of right now. The only reason i am considering it, is so that the clients can see that im qualified, and if i intend to get a house, having a steady income from a salary job, and as i said, all of the local companies seem to want alot of qualifications.

 

Yeah definately agree with you here, I think marketing is about 60% of having a good business and finding business, building a good rep up when you start. You have to take chances but hey you may fall flat on your arse or go big time but you wont know unless you try. I am going to try to build up a portfolio/rep whilst at university and maybe in the 3rd/4th year actually advertise and promote myself when my skills are alot better than they are at present.

Regarding Uni + Web Design there is very few (I think 2, I may be wrong) that do a degree in just web design one being Bristol UWE which I am at. Alot do media/computer science/computing which cover aspects of webdesign but dont cover it all.

In my opinion a degree is simply a piece of paper proving you have the ability to pass an exam

In some cases people have more ability in the subject, but find it difficult to communicate this during an exam and can score lower, or even fail

 

My advice is always to use a balance between the two

If you after basic website design the self-study, which is how I started

I already good knowledge of BASIC and DOS by 1992

I started off with MS FrontPage Express, then using wordpad to scrutinise what the software had created

I then picked up a copy of WROX HTML 4.0, and still use it to this day

I now use Serif products, but still write some code myself where necessary

 

When giving lessons on website design I start from the basics of what HTML is and how it should be laid out

Only once a person understands that I then move to what they want from their website

There is no point teaching them everything, unlike some of the website design courses I have heard about...

In my opinion a degree is simply a piece of paper proving you have the ability to pass an exam

 

I disagree with this, it also shows that they have the ability to study and are good learners. Most importantly a good degree signifies a person who is able to organise and manage themselves. This is the most important skill you can learn from any degree - there is no hand-holding at university. It's a shame that the privilege costs so much these days, but it is just a bloody good way of forcing yourself to study and learn for a few years in my opinion.

 

In my experience I had some good lecturers and bad ones, some were worth paying for and I learned a lot, others weren't so worthy. However I met some awesome people and had many a fantastic hour sat drinking coffee and bouncing ideas off of each other - something a freelancer really misses out on.

 

I studied Computer Science and gained a deep theoretical grounding in programming and computing. However the general knowledge I use day-to-day in my job regarding web development (HTML, CSS, PHP etc) is all completely self-taught. So it wasn't really my degree skills that got me my job, rather my degree skills have laid a foundation which means I can easily learn new languages and technologies and instantly have an understanding of their fundamentals because I know the principles they are based upon. Without that theoretical knowledge I would struggle to learn and understand what was going on a lot more!

 

I know this is true as pre-degree I dabbled in PHP and javascript. I could fix other folk's scripts to work the way I wanted but was unable to grasp it well enough to write on my own. After my first year at uni I was capable of writing PHP scripts from the ground up, based on the principles I learnt in Java classes.

 

So I agree with the balance comments. A degree is of little use on it's own, but a degree with even a small portfolio to show your skills in practice can get you very far.

 

P.S. I do vouch for Rob in how hard his decision was, but from what I gather he's never looked back

What is required is perseverance and application of your mental focus to the task(s) at hand. Then you will learn.

This sentence sums up my feelings exactly. Whether you go to uni or become self-taught.

I think you've all come off the beat and track? The blog post was about a GRAPHIC design degree.....not web design!

 

There's no such thing as a web design degree...is there? I believe a computer science degree is the closest??? Then there's CIW, which i can vouch for being a waste of money and time!

 

But if someone offered me the chance to take either a web design or graphic design degree.... i would tell them to poke it! The web is awash with free tutorials created by good pro's and learning off a few of your favourite's will in time leave you in good stead and allow you to develop your OWN style!

I think you've all come off the beat and track? The blog post was about a GRAPHIC design degree.....not web design!

 

There's no such thing as a web design degree...is there? I believe a computer science degree is the closest??? Then there's CIW, which i can vouch for being a waste of money and time!

 

But if someone offered me the chance to take either a web design or graphic design degree.... i would tell them to poke it! The web is awash with free tutorials created by good pro's and learning off a few of your favourite's will in time leave you in good stead and allow you to develop your OWN style!

 

 

I'm so indecisive i opted for the three!! I'm 19 + work 50 hours p/w full-time job, study HNC/D Computing (routes to a degree) at college night classes and run my web design business!!!!

I'm so indecisive i opted for the three!! I'm 19 + work 50 hours p/w full-time job, study HNC/D Computing (routes to a degree) at college night classes and run my web design business!!!!

 

 

You greedy git

I think you've all come off the beat and track? The blog post was about a GRAPHIC design degree.....not web design!

 

There's no such thing as a web design degree...is there? I believe a computer science degree is the closest??? Then there's CIW, which i can vouch for being a waste of money and time!

 

But if someone offered me the chance to take either a web design or graphic design degree.... i would tell them to poke it! The web is awash with free tutorials created by good pro's and learning off a few of your favourite's will in time leave you in good stead and allow you to develop your OWN style!

 

Here

 

Which is what I am studying at the moment currently just finished my first year.

You greedy git

 

hehe

 

My local university don't offer a specific web design/development degree so I didn't bother going to University and took a job in IT and took a part-time course. It'll take 5 years to get a degree (if i want it) but at least it will give me something to fall back on (+ I dont pay any tuition fees ).

 

Totally agree on the below quote. Even at a degree course, the tutors will only introduce you to a subject, it is up to you to explore it. A degree course will not make you the best designer or the PHP programmer around - If you can do the below then why is a degree needed?

 

What is required is perseverance and application of your mental focus to the task(s) at hand. Then you will learn.

Here

 

Which is what I am studying at the moment currently just finished my first year.

 

 

Okay i have been proved wrong (as he say's through gritted teeth).. But.... i still wouldn't do it. The thing is when i first inquired about doing the CIW web design course from Computeach. They quoted me five grand....FIVE GRAND!! That's criminal. In the end i passed three out of the two exams just from using online resources which where FREE! And it only cost me in all...£300.

 

 

But each to their own. I wish you luck.....you silly people...LOL! Just out of curiosity though...what have you learnt. I am not being funny or anything, just curious!

Okay i have been proved wrong (as he say's through gritted teeth).. But.... i still wouldn't do it. The thing is when i first inquired about doing the CIW web design course from Computeach. They quoted me five grand....FIVE GRAND!! That's criminal. In the end i passed three out of the two exams just from using online resources which where FREE! And it only cost me in all...£300.

 

 

But each to their own. I wish you luck.....you silly people...LOL! Just out of curiosity though...what have you learnt. I am not being funny or anything, just curious!

 

Im going to be awfully honest here, not an awful lot yet !!!

I have learnt basic html + css and tiny tiny bits of PHP, javascript. Also some Java which I have no clue why we do for a module its more computer science IMO.

However this year doesnt count towards our final grades + is just a year to have off after A levels I think and to get used to "uni life" getting drunk/partying/lazy/no money basically.

 

I have learnt most of what I know (isnt alot) from self learning and from this forum. I think I may struggle with languages like php,mysql,javascript tbh but I WANT to learn them as they are so vital. 2nd/3rd year is alot more intense and worthwhile apparently according to some of the 2nd year students.

 

Im stuck in two minds at the moment about freelancing or working for a business but it shouldnt worry me yet. I am trying to build a portfolio + get some client experience which I have achieved but just havent completed them both.

Hi all, we are writing a part two to this - hopefully summarising some of the views here and countering them aswell with our opinions. will let you know when I post up.

Having a degree has helped me to get the interviews on occasions but any employer who would rather you had a degree than a strong portfolio is a moron and you shouldn't want to work there anyway.

 

A great portfolio will win in the battle of education vs skill but if you put them together then you have an advantage over JUST a great portfolio.

 

To any young people out there thinking about doing a degree, my advice is DO IT DO IT DO IT!! Not only is University the best time of your life (FACT!) but you will learn so much in terms of theory AND it is a great time to get on with freelancing because of all the spare time you will have.

 

A degree is great for the theory side of things but there is no substitute for having an eye for design

Im going to be awfully honest here, not an awful lot yet !!!

I have learnt basic html + css and tiny tiny bits of PHP, javascript. Also some Java which I have no clue why we do for a module its more computer science IMO.

 

 

That's why i believe it's a waste of time regarding getting into web design. But that's just me being tight!. But (as terry said above ^) the one thing that will get you noticed in the web design industry is a portfolio. I am not sticking my fingers up at you and saying i am better than you, but i was proficient in (x)html and CSS within a year, had basic knowledge of Photoshop and flash. And if it wasn't the fact that i got hocked on flash and pursued a career as a flash designer/developer for nearly a year, i would have had a portfolio up and running a lot sooner.

 

That's what i would do if i was you. Get your portfolio done. Even if it's a basic site with a basic layout with nothing to put in it apart from a few photo's of you and your students mates.? Get it up and running and just add to it AS SOON AS you learn something new. Once you start creating a project that means something to you (portfolio) then you enjoy it more and learn a lot quicker! You will keep getting that Erecka moment when it just falls into place!

 

Anyway.....that's my little " I told you so" rant out of the way. I wish you all the best with it.

 

EDIT: Also check out as many free online tutorials you can find. Below is a few sites that will help you loads.....

 

http://nettuts.com/

 

http://css-tricks.com/video-screencasts/

 

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/

That's why i believe it's a waste of time regarding getting into web design. But that's just me being tight!. But (as terry said above ^) the one thing that will get you noticed in the web design industry is a portfolio. I am not sticking my fingers up at you and saying i am better than you, but i was proficient in (x)html and CSS within a year, had basic knowledge of Photoshop and flash. And if it wasn't the fact that i got hocked on flash and pursued a career as a flash designer/developer for nearly a year, i would have had a portfolio up and running a lot sooner.

 

That's what i would do if i was you. Get your portfolio done. Even if it's a basic site with a basic layout with nothing to put in it apart from a few photo's of you and your students mates.? Get it up and running and just add to it AS SOON AS you learn something new. Once you start creating a project that means something to you (portfolio) then you enjoy it more and learn a lot quicker! You will keep getting that Erecka moment when it just falls into place!

 

Anyway.....that's my little " I told you so" rant out of the way. I wish you all the best with it.

 

EDIT: Also check out as many free online tutorials you can find. Below is a few sites that will help you loads.....

 

http://nettuts.com/

 

http://css-tricks.com/video-screencasts/

 

 

Yeah thats what I am doing at the moment in the easter holidays. Also I am quite lucky as I have a client (GF's Dad) who is on the board of a company and their website isn't good so I offered to do them one so at least I will have something in my portfolio and then we shall see if the word of mouth works for me.

 

Also to all experienced designers, do you think that you improve with experience as your knowledge widens or do you have a eye for design from day 1?

 

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/

My opinion is that if you can get the job done, professionally and effectively, then a degree isn't neccessary. These days there are many ways to get into a career field, uni not always being the one option. While having a degree when going for a job interview or for a mention on your site may impress potential clients, its not always necessary to be a well respected web designer or any other career professional for that matter.

I think if you have the opportunity to do so, undertaking a degree will help you tenfold, in some situations that piece of paper will help you, but it's not ultimately about that, the skills you will pick up in University are whats important, not just technical skills, but discipline as well.

 

It also offers a great opportunity to develop a portfolio, and I think you have a lot more time and freedom to work on projects in university than you would in the real world, you can spend all your time developing whatever you want really, which you can't do in the working world - and it would be very difficult trying to produce work of HE standard while balancing a regular job and personal life.

 

I personally find it much easier to learn through university than reading tutorials online, you definitely benefit more from the interaction with industry professionals, and not just that, but you can learn so much from the people around you and working in groups, it is a great resource in general with regards to meeting other designers, access to software and books and being able to produce "live" projects for real clients as well.

 

If your course requires you complete a placement year, then that is an excellent step for anyone starting out in the industry, as a lot of companies are keen to take on up & coming, talented designers for a year - which opens up a whole range of opportunities, and helps with the fact that many companies require at least one years previous experience.

 

Again, it's up to the individual at the end of the day, if your a good designer, your a good designer, but university is certainly a very helpful and positive experience for me. I can explore my creative side 24/7 because that is my full time position at the minute, and I have the opportunity to make use of the time and resources - having a few years to develop a stunning portfolio with your most original and creative work is certainly going to stand out more than a portfolio full of corporate projects - this is from a graphic design perspective, and I am not disputing the fact that experience and commercial work is important as well, but I will get plenty of that during my work placement and freelance projects.

I agree that university would help. My personal situation left me unable to do so, in comparison my sister is in her last year of a graphic design degree, and although she has the right theoretical techniques - I think she has a lot to learn in terms of 'realtime' work.

 

I managed to progress to a programmer in my old employment, and I believe you learn very very fast that way compared to College.

 

Does anyone have any examples of successful designers that don't have a degree? I'd be interested to compare the difference.

 

I agree, it's in the portfolio! It's never been an issue for me yet that I know of, I've had clients who liked the work I have done. I couldn't work for nothing doing work experience as I have bills to pay. But I would have liked to do that.

this topic is quite interesting, I dont want to be necro-poster but just want to add my 2c

 

Degree is not required. What you need is good portfolio, and some balls to deal with clients, as some are just plain stupid, just as human nature is.

 

the longer I study (IT), the more i find it irrevelant to webdesign. I start to think am wasting time there.

 

You cant really learn design at studies. Getting good at designing is a long process of trials and errors. I'd agree that studies would be remotely helpful if only there was such a degree as "webdesigner". But there isnt (well maybe in usa? they got everything).

You will end up knowing much more if you focus on working in home and simply designing.

IT studies are usually too bloated (is that the word?), you gotta learn so many things at once, that you will have no time for any other work.And in addition big universities dont have time for single student, they just require programming to be done (or anything else),then they check it. And you end up learning all the boring stuff from books/web by yourself anyways.

 

 

From all the job offers i've seen so far (webdesigner obviously.), none needed degree, well maybe some-but then any kind of degree will do, and its just "optional" bonus.

But If you dont have portfolio.. forget even about sending CV.

 

Studies are fun sometimes tho

do you all mind if i place some of your responses in a follow up article?

A degree gives you 3 things...

 

1. You learn a lot about theory (ie colour theory, golden ratios etc) that would otherwise have to be self taught

2. Usually you get to work with many types of medium, methods and tools

3. You get a bit of paper if you pass

 

With that degree it can help you get a foot in the door at whatever company. Some companies still consider that bit of paper to be valuable if it's tied in with a good portfolio, but not all. Once you're in and have a job, the theory you learnt will be useful to give you a bit of a head start but wherever you end up you still essentially have to start from scratch.

 

The big problem with degrees and other formal qualifications (O levels, A levels or whatever the current term is) is that so many people have lots of them nowadays that their value has been reduced. "When I were a lad" if you left school with 3 O levels you could virtually walk into any job you wanted - nowadays it seems everyone leaves school with a dozen of them, so employers can no longer take their pick of the crop, and so are increasingly looking for experience as a replacement for those bits of paper which don't prove you can actually do anything in a commercial environment.

 

...and that's why so many students are working shifts at Tescos.

I think a successful career will be yours if you work hard for it. Either in studying or by just learning it by yourself. A lot of people who finish high Degrees but doesn't have good career or not very successful as we say and there are also some that hasn't finish anything or with lower degree but made it on top.

 

I think all depends on how you persevere and how you work hard on it.

I have just finished my degree year in University. I got into web design/development very early and I ended up at college when I was 15. I stayed at college for 3 years for a NQ/HNC & HND in Computing which then led to University. I have been at University for 2 years and I'm now looking for a job with my degree and I can honestly say it is not helping at all.

 

I kinda hoped to walk into a job once I got my degree but definitely not the case. I half wished I just self-taught myself and had been working the entire time.

 

I have even contemplated a run of the mill Tesco's job to get some funds whilst trying to get clients for web development on the side but I somehow feel I deserve a decent job after 5 years of education haha

 

I can either find a job soon or do my honours degree at University.

No

 

You do need an ethic of continuing education. I used to program something similar to Ceefax pages before the web was arround. Had I taken a degree back then, I would not have many relevant skills now. What I would say is that the education I did back then, laid a solid foundation of principles that have sept me through to today. As much as it seems twee - I used to program BBC model B's and 380z reseaarch machines. 25 years on, I dont recognise that world - and in 25 years time, a degree wont help you either. Al that will help you is that you devoted some time to keep 100% up to date as the industry eveolved

As a graduate of 4 years studying Web Design & Development my short answer is NO. Some people have exceptional talent with Photoshop or Illustrator for some reason, no one knows why it's a mystery lol If your good then you will get work.

 

However in most jobs and not just in IT we are expected to take on multiple roles. Four years at University will have you using Adobe Premier, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Visual Studio, MSSQL Server Management, Oracle, MySQL, Flash.

 

Modules might include interface design, marketing, computer ethics, law and much more. The idea is to bridge the gap between professions and this is what employers are looking for. I imagine someone with a wide array of subjects that they have spent a year studying will have a higher chance of rising through the ranks. I belief this because after doing so many different things you have a clear idea of what it is you really want to be doing and what role you want to play in the team.

 

But then say you already know what role you want to play like you seem too?!

 

Finished with a question, strange lol

dt17 for you specifically. Feel for ya man

 

Did you feel your course was difficult or challenging? I personally never and got quickly bored at University so I got back into the army (TA this time) and then it did get hard, like I wanted. If I had not done that I feel University is not anywhere near demanding as it should be to actually warrent walking straight into a job.

 

That is coming from a guy in the exact same position as you and a kid on the way mate.

 

Might be an example of how life experiance helps us see things different because I started looking for clients before Uni finished and even done a lot less study on my last year because I knew it wouldnt do me any favours getting good grades. I sort of got to that point and felt there is no way this University degree is ALL I need to get a job. Don't know why but I just did and I started making money December 2008 instead of June 2009!

 

On the the client and portolio side of things I'm so far ahead of my classmates its a joke. I'm customising WordPress and they have hardly used it. I've subscribed to freelance websites like Guru.com and they are asking me where I get work from.

 

Where is the fault for those who don't realise this and have a false sense of believe and confidence that becomes shattered?

 

I would say with the University because they are not very good at indicating that an A+ is still just an indication that you done really well in what can only ever been an introduction. It can be an indicator to what you may be good at but have a long way to go on. Too many students think they just became professionals when they finish the course but it is not their fault.

 

All of this is might help someone decide if it is worth doing the whole degree! Smaller more broken up course choices might be better or going into University knowing that you may not get as much from it as other people that way your not missing anything.

 

dt17 keep chin up man and let us all know how you do, If your interested in keep the skills fresh by working with people on some interesting projects give us a shout info@webtechglobal.co.uk.

 

Ryan