How to get your first job as a web designer

Posted on 02. Sep, 2010 by Roman Leinwather in How To, Tips

We have all started in this wonderful industry as a newbie, with no experience
and little knowledge in the field, but hey, we are here, doing what we love so
there must be a way in.

In this article I am going to tell you what you should do before you start looking
for your first job as a web designer. You might not have any knowledge about
developing for the web but do not worry; I will tell you what I did that got me into
this industry a couple years ago.

Do I need tertiary education or school to become a web designer?

It will definitely not be a disadvantage if you have some course but it is not
necessary, what is necessary is your knowledge and the way you can show it
and prove it, but we will come back to this later.

What is the basic skill set required to get a job as a web designer?

As a web designer you should concentrate on learning how to use Photoshop,
how to code by hand in HTML/CSS and how to code some JavaScript basics, I
would recommend jQuery as itʼs very well connected to CSS knowledge you will
be learning. You might also learn how to setup your first blog; I would
recommend WordPress as it is the simplest and most used option out there.

This might sound like a lot when you are just starting but trust me it is not and
you will learn a hundred times more once you start your first full time job.

How much time should I spent studying before applying for my first job?

It will take you about one year to get all this knowledge to get to the level where
you can start looking for a junior position. Keep in mind you have to study every
single day, you are passionate about this right?

How do I start?

First of all you really need to want this so you must be passionate about it. If you
are thinking of getting the knowledge just to have “a job”, or your main focus is on
money, do not do it. You will stop in the middle thinking it’s too difficult. You need
the passion that will push you through the hard times.

You might find a course where they teach you this knowledge or you start buying
books. The second option is cheaper but requires more self-discipline.
The books will give you the latest actual knowledge that you will not find in just

one location on the web. You might find hundreds of very useful articles but you
will still feel like you do not see the whole picture and there is something missing
in the knowledge mosaic. If you go to Amazon.com, search for any of the
technologies I have mentioned before and get the most popular book published
this or the previous year you are on the right track. You might need to read every
book 2-3 times to really get everything you need and you will also need about 3
books per technology so you will see it from the perspective of different
people/writers/designers.

Trial and error

The first day you start studying you need to try whatever youʼre reading about.
There is nothing that can replace hands-on experience. Youʼll learn all you need
a lot quicker once you can see whatʼs going on for yourself, try it and not only will
you remember solutions – it will help you resolve future problems even quicker.
Whatever you produce probably wonʼt be very good in the beginning but
remember this: In your future career you will look back at the work you have
done a couple of months/years ago and you might not like it because it may feel
old or not good enough to you so enjoy every moment you create something as
that is the best time to appreciate it.

What tools do I need?

To try coding you will need a text editor. There are quite a few free ones out there
but even the ones you need to pay for are not that expensive. I would
recommend Coda or Textmate. You will also need Photoshop – this one is
expensive one but you might get a good discount (as I did) if you are a student.
Check out the options available on the Adobe website.

So, is studying and trying to code enough?

No, here comes the most important part. You need to breath and live with the
community. You need to find the best designers and developers out there and
follow them. Read their blogs, tweets, check their code snippets regularly or
screenshots on sites like flickr, dribble, forest, watch videos about their code on
youtube, vimeo, listen to podcasts, screen-casts, visit conferences,
presentations. This is the only way you will keep up to speed with whatʼs new.
We are in a very fast-paced industry and no education system can keep up with
this speed. You need to follow the individuals that you get the latest knowledge
from. These are the people who have been in the industry for years, they know
what is important, what will be a game changer, what tool will help you the most
and so on. I have been doing this for five years now and I still get the best
information from following people like Veerle, Inman, Snook, Jason Santa Maria,
Mark Bouton, John Resign and so on, the list is very long.

How do you know whom to follow? You don’t. It takes time to realize who is
interesting for you, who’s work you like the most, who is the best inspiration for
you. Remember that your ultimate goal is to work in an industry that you love.

Play

Do not forget to explore new areas and play. Even if you do not have any
projects on your hands and you see interesting scripts or functionality, try to
replicate it. It is not violating any rights if you just learning and the best way to
learn is to try and reproduce the best work out there. Lets say you like the tiny
drop-shadow on the button, open Photoshop and spend as much time as you
need to replicate it. Try different options. It does not matter how long it takes.
Next time you might work on a real project and you will know exactly how to do it.
Or lets say you like some cool fadeOut effect, search on the web for the solution.
You will realize that some really interesting stuff can be done with very little code
and again this will come very handy when you work on some real projects in the
future.

I learned some coding and Photoshop now what?

Once you get some knowledge you need to start building your portfolio so you
have something to show to your new employer. The best way to do this is by
doing voluntary work. Build a site for charity, or any other company. It would be
good if you could build at least three projects before you start looking for a job.
You get some experience and you have something to show.

If you have already learned how HTML/CSS work you might try to start your first
site. The best solution is installing a WordPress blog. If you are not a very
technical person this might take you a while but you will learn a lot and it will
definitely help you once you start looking for your dream job. Try to blog as often
as you can about stuff you are passionate about.

Companies out there are not looking for individuals who know everything; you are
just starting, right? But they need to see that you like what you do, you are willing
to learn new things and you have discipline. Your small portfolio and blog will
prove all this.

This is all way too much work

You thought it would be easy? I am sorry, nothing is easy if you want to do it
properly. If you love what you do, you do not have to force yourself to study to
explore and that means you will progress and you will learn.

Do not stop

You will end up in the situation where you think, this is way too complicated, I do
not understand it, and I do not know how to do it. Trust me, you will be able to do
it. It is just a matter of time. Do not stop. Search on the web for solutions. You
might not find the exact answer but you might find something that will help you to
understand one piece of it then you will find another piece and at the end you will
know how to do it, you will understand. Trust me, I have been there so many
times. We are actually a lot better than we think.

So here you are thinking about your first step, remember, in only one year you
could be doing your dream job, so lets start today.

Tags: article, CSS, HTML, Photoshop