Major Monday – Web development

You don’t have to “speak computer” in order to become a web designer. As long as you have a knack for aesthetic style, the ability to work with technology and are able to evolve with the changing digital environment, this innovative and growing field might be for you! Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering a major in web development:

Education

According to the College Board, this degree is typically earned at the certificate and associate’s degree levels. While not required, high school courses in website design, computer/graphic arts and AP Computer Science are helpful preparatory courses to prepare students for this degree. Typical college courses that are taken for this major include computer graphics tools, e-commerce, Javascript, project management, web programming, website development and multimedia for the web. Many introductory courses will have students examining and evaluating websites created by other developers in order to determine what elements of a successful web page work and what don’t.

What to know before you apply

With constantly changing technologies, students should be willing to constantly learn new procedures, coding and development practices. This includes leaning coding language and being able to create and edit multimedia webpages on different technological platforms. Students should be aware of whether or not the college they are attending offers concentrations in e-commerce or other areas of interest as well as if the computer labs will offer the latest programming hardware and software. Students should also be prepared to be graded based on both their use of coding as well as the effectiveness of their designs in web design courses.

Salary

Students who graduate with a degree in web development most often go into careers in computer programming or web design. Computer programmers earned an average yearly salary of $76,010 in 2011 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and web designers earned an average of $55,000 per year according to AIGA in 2012.