Web Design: School or Not to School?

I love connecting with my readers and a common questions I get is: “What’s the best way to get into web design?”. Below is a really nice email from a new reader, James. I asked if he would mind sharing his story with others and he kindly obliged.

A Letter From a Reader

Dear Larissa,

I discovered your site via Dribbble today, and as I was reading your about page, your story inspired me. I’m currently working as a civil engineer and I have a bachelor of science degree in that field. However, as each day goes by, I realize more and more that engineering is not for me. My true passion is web design, and I feel I have loads of talent and potential for that kind of work. I wish I let myself believe that back then before I went to college. But in those days it was not “cool” to do and the lure of a good paying profession meant more to me at the time. I’m now almost 3 years in to the engineering world, and I feel a burning desire to change careers to web design. I know I’ve got the talent and the motivation to succeed in that field, but I just don’t know how to start. I feel like formal education is a must, but I don’t see how it would be possible to go back for 4 more years. I’ve looked in to community colleges, but didn’t think a degree from a CC would be legit enough to land an agency job. However, your story has renewed my hopes that the community college might be a viable option. I don’t mean to pry, but I was wondering if you got an associates or a bachelors? And if you could give me any educational advice based on your experience, I would greatly appreciate it.

My Advice

These days, a lot of designers are self-taught and it doesn’t really matter what school you go to. What matters are abilities, dedication and a solid portfolio of work. Many schools are teaching antiquated technology anyway simply because technology is evolving faster than people can adapt and many web designers start creating designs as a hobby.

If you are already well into the path of a different career – I think it might make sense to stick with your current path.

Let engineering pay the bills for now… but there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t take a few classes or read a few books to get started in design. You can always pursue web design on the side by doing projects for friends or for yourself. The absolute best way to learn is by doing – resulting in a solid portfolio.

I also recommend attending some web design conferences such as FOWD, The Front End Design Conference, SXSW or even some local meet-up groups. These are quick ways to meet a lot of people in the business and quickly get tapped-in.

I actually never finished school. I was studying fine art but wanted to study 3D animation. I spent all of my money at an expensive art college my first year (dumb move) and at that time they weren’t even teaching 3D animation or Web Design. I ended up transferring to a local community college which had a more progressive computer lab where I was able to get my feet wet in 3D animation.

3+ years later I ended up not finishing because I was working at an advertising company and I wanted to peruse acting in LA instead.

However, no matter what other career paths I experimented with – I always remained immersed in design. I kept plugging away in my free time doing side projects and before I knew it, I had myself a career in web design.

I guess the moral of the story is – you can do both. Just take small steps and as long as your manage your time well and work hard, you can transition in to the wonderful world of web design.