If you’re interested in learning to become a web developer, you’re headed down an exciting career path. As with any change, though, you might have some questions about whether or not web development is the right fit for you. That’s perfectly normal! To help you figure out whether you’re on the right path for your future, here are some important answers to the tough questions about a career as a web developer.
The Job
Working as a web developer, you’ll create and maintain websites. This means, you’ll be the person behind the scenes actually constructing and programming websites, apps, or both. Web developers either work as part of a larger team or independently as contractors. It’s a great career to move into because pretty much every industry you can think of has a need for web developers at one point or another.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, web development is projected to grow at a 23% rate in the next ten years; that’s a much faster than average growth rate. Additionally, the median pay is about $78,300 per year, the equivalent of $37.65 per hour. That means that life as a web developer can provide you with both job security and a healthy, livable wage.
Creative Problem Solving
What kind of person enjoys this role? Web developers need to be creative problem solvers because you’ll be finding working solutions a lot in your day-to-day work. That means that if you thrive on figuring out solutions and finding ways to make things work, then you’re making a good career move.
Curiosity
This career path is also a good fit for people who love to learn and have a natural curiosity. New designs and scripts are released constantly in this ever-changing field, so you will most likely never learn it all. That means you’ll always be able to add more to your repertoire of skills and probably never get bored of the job.
Patience
With those two qualities in mind, patience is another valuable quality for a web developer to have. Oftentimes, you’ll have to tweak bits and pieces of a website as you go back and forth with your client. You’ll also have to consider the fact that your clients probably don’t really know what goes into developing their site, so a level of frustration can be added to that…meaning, patience will be essential!
Clear Communication Skills
Being a good communicator will help alleviate some frustrations though. Especially when you’re working as a part of a team or one-on-one with clients, being able to clearly communicate the expectations of your role, your limitations, and a realistic timeline for getting projects done will come in handy. Being personable will help you get along with others, and that patience we talked about earlier will go a long way in helping you figure out how to clearly define what it is you’re trying to communicate.
Attention to Details
Web developers have to pay attention to details. It’s all good and well to have patience and love to learn, but if you’re unable to notice even the tiniest details, then you’re probably not going to enjoy working in this field. Checking and rechecking code is going to be a big part of your daily work. While you’re searching for solutions to problems, you’ll have to go through code bit by bit, searching for possible errors and ways to streamline processes. One little mistake can break a whole website or app, so there’s not much room for error when it comes to working as a web developer.
Washington Technical Institute
Washington Technical Institute’s fully online IT certificates can be completed in a matter of months, with daily or bi-weekly start dates. Such flexible start dates make these programs unique and much more accessible for our students. Most of our certificates can be earned as a self-paced program, meaning that you can work at your own pace to complete your work, even finishing early if you have the time and motivation to do so.
If you’re looking for a Web Development learning opportunity, the focus of that certificate program is web design with exposure to JavaScript, HTML, and C++ coding languages. With an instructor available to answer your questions and guide you, it’s a great place to learn without the frustration that you might experience trying to figure it out all on your own.
An additional benefit of WTI’s programs is that we offer affordable pricing and monthly payments to help our students leave school without debt. Although our goal is to help our students graduate their programs with little to no debt, we also recognize that some students might need to utilize a loan for their educational investment. We are excited to announce our partnerships with Climb Credit or Ascent, student lending companies focused on financing career-building programs.
If you’re ready to enroll and start working on a plan for the personal and professional benefit of professional development, you can register for your program online through our website. Still have questions about our programs? Feel free to call us at 800-371-5581 or text us at 952-465-3702. Our admissions specialists will be happy answer whatever questions you have.
