I’m looking to start out on a new career path in web design but I’m a bit worried about the viability of this plan. I’m currently a teacher, but always wanted to pursue some type of visual-oriented field; just never had the time/resources to pursue it.
Graphic design is an oversaturated field, so I’ve been studying coding here and have very much enjoyed it so far.
So with that background, my questions are:
-how competitive are junior web design jobs? (Is there such a thing, or do they all require many years of experience?) I’ve tried searching and the offerings seem very limited, so I’m hoping to be wrong.
-would I be competitive if I applied to jobs with a solid design sense backed up by a portfolio, a bachelor’s degree in something entirely unrelated (humanities), and a working knowledge of html, css, and javascript?
What seems ideal to me right now is if I could get a remote job, or freelance, building individual websites for various companies or selling website templates I build (do people do that?)
I have no problem with building up my portfolio over a long timespan. It’s a hobby for me right now anyway. I’d just like to know how likely it could be for me to find a job in this field after a while.
Sorry if this is a bit of a ramble, but if you have any thoughts about any of my questions, I’d be very grateful
Junior web design jobs are highly competitive, and the biggest competitor isn’t other people, its other software. Software like wordpress and wix, or any other “build your own website” software allows the average person to build a simple website for their basic needs without needing to pay anyone to do it. This automatically sucks up a lot of potential work, since you can get a good looking site with some advance features and hosting for a few dollars a month.
This leaves the few jobs left as the “design” part is easily handled by that sort of software. Leaving a few jobs where you can work as a designer for more complex software, or companies who want more specific designs. Of which most are looking for experienced individuals simply because they require it for their more complex use-case.
I’d check freelancing as an option, especially if you want to do this while you still teach. It would give you a good sense of how much work, time, effort it takes for how much you get paid, without betting it all on making it.
I’ve heard wordpress developers (people who use wordpress to build stuff, or add to wordpress itself I believe) is another option, which may or may not be worth it. Again I recommend checking it out now while still working your day job to check if its right for you.
Otherwise, getting a full-time remote job is a little harder because not only do you have to show you know what your doing, but you also need to show you can work remotely effectively. If you have experience doing this in the past, its much easier for an employer to “trust” you, in the sense your still productive.
The key I believe is being flexible in your approach to the job scene and being able to show off professional level work out of the gate.
So this means your portfolio should sell you as a worker who should be hired for professional work, because you do professional level work. Further, it should show you have a knack for learning other things and expanding out rather than doing only specific tasks, as this keeps “other doors open” for different kinds of jobs your directly looking for.
So if you have a knack for design, all your projects should look good, while at the same time they still function, and have enough features to look professional.
If you enjoy coding, I suggest to continue it. Out of all the things you can learn with web development, learning how to program is the one skill that can be carried over to any number of domains and use-cases. If you can combine solid coding skills with a great eye for design, you can become very useful to any company, as its not often you find people who have a talent in both. Yes programming is hard, but it pays well ;D
