Getting a Web Development Job For Dummies (2015)

Part III. Getting Your Education

Chapter 13. Exploring Certificate Programs and Advanced Degrees

In This Chapter

Building your own program

Continuing your education

Learning from Stanford’s example

Getting an advanced degree

Web development is constantly changing. Although it’s true that formal community college, college, and university degrees are very valuable, as described in Chapter 12, they’re not entirely necessary, and they’re not always sufficient.

Degrees are not entirely necessary because web developers are in such high demand, and because the work that you do can be “self-evidencing.” That is, public-facing websites that you’ve helped create or modify, your portfolio site, and colleagues’ recommendations can add up to a powerful argument for your value on a web development team, almost regardless of formal education level.

However, as we mentioned previously, we do recommend getting a college degree. It’s very easy for the people who shuffle papers in the hiring area of a company to only put resumes in the “yes” pile if they list a college degree. Even for relatively savvy hiring managers, a person with a degree is going to stand out over someone without one, all other things being equal. So you stand a better chance of getting the job you want, at the salary you want, with a degree or two in hand.

One difference between web development and a lot of other relatively good-paying office jobs is that a two-year degree, called an associate degree — an associate of arts (A.A.) or associate of sciences (A.S.), which is more technical — is sometimes sufficient for web development careers, at least for getting started.

However, over time, you’re likely to be regarded as more technically capable, to get hired more easily and more often, and to be paid better, if you move up to a four-year degree — a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) or B.S. (Bachelor of Sciences).

But the fact that a degree is necessary, or almost necessary, is one thing. Why might a degree, even a four-year degree, not be sufficient?

Because web development is constantly changing. New tools, new programming languages, and new ways of working are constantly coming to the fore.

There are many ways to learn these new tools. Trial-and-error on your own; articles with tips and tricks; online courses; and live, in-person courses are the major approaches. You can also find a degree or certificate program that wraps a bunch of pieces together, although some parts may be uninteresting or repetitive for you.

One argument in favor of structured courses is that they make you take the time for learning. That is, you might be able to learn something yourself in a few days of trying things — but as long as you’re at work, you don’t get the time to do that. So instead, by signing up for a course, you’re taken out of the daily hubbub and allowed to focus on learning.

There are trade-offs, as well, in online and in-person learning. In general, online learning is more flexible. If you can whiz through a relatively familiar topic, online learning might be the best bet. But in-person courses get more of your attention and focus, simply because you’re physically present. You also may have better opportunities to ask questions and to network with others, both about learning the material and future job possibilities.

With all this in mind, do seek out structured opportunities to learn. Find out which approaches work best for you. Use the things you learn on the job and also in projects for your portfolio (see Chapter 16). By using what you’ve learned, it sticks much better than if you only ever use the new skills in a learning environment.

Building Your Own University Program

Many colleges and universities allow for a lot of flexibility in their degree programs. Others offer the additional option of specialized majors that are expressly designed to let you do almost whatever you want.

When you go looking for a job, it’s easier if you have a recognized name for your studies, such as computer science. If you want to take a cluster of courses in a particular area, such as database design, you might be able to find a major that has that area in its name; otherwise, you can simply tell potential employers that you had an “emphasis in” the area that you focused on.

You can also put together double majors or interdisciplinary programs. If the healthcare area fascinates you, you can do a combined program of some sort in healthcare, biology, or physiology, along with computer science courses.

Web design jobs are constantly changing, and web design touches just about every area of business, government, and the non-profit world. So combined degrees can be very useful ways into a particular area that interests you.

You can also pursue areas that you might not use directly. A minor in literature or philosophy might help you pursue your own intellectual interests without distracting from your major. Even a double major or interdisciplinary program featuring a non-technical major is unlikely to hurt you much: It shows that you have a broad range of interests, are independent, and have “learned how to learn.” (And, as a practical matter, a break from highly intense computer science courses during your college time might be a good thing indeed.)

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, management jobs in computer science usually require a bachelor’s degree, and the same is true for web development. So if you want to be a manager, and you don’t yet have your bachelor’s degree, figure out how to get one. What specific courses you take on the way to your degree is probably not all that important, as long as each of the courses help you increase your skills in some way.

Figure 13-1 shows the educational requirements for manager’s jobs in computer science, as part of the overall occupational outlook for this area. To see this page, visit www.bls.gov/ooh/management/computer-and-information-systems-managers.htm#tab-4.

Figure 13-1: The BLS sees a bachelor’s degree as a requirement for manager’s jobs in tech.

Finally, you can ask about auditing courses that interest you. Auditing means sitting in a class, and potentially even taking the exams, without getting university credit. Many professors welcome auditors, as they are often working professionals who lend a nice balance to the bright, but inexperienced, young things who fill most of the seats in their courses. It’s a great way to learn, to meet people, and to consider your options for further education.

Wonder what kind of requirement’s a major university’s computer science program has? Stanford is probably the leading school in the world for computer science, and it’s famous for birthing start-ups, with Google being only the most spectacular of many examples, so we use it for examples here. Figure 13-2 shows the home page for the Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science at Stanford.

Figure 13-2: Stanford’s course requirements are a set of marching orders for some, but an à la carte menu for others.

Mathematical core courses are outlined in Table 13-1.

Table 13-1 Mathematics (26 Units Minimum)

Stanford’s core curriculum in science is shown in Table 13-2.

Table 13-2 Science (11 Units Minimum)

For the core courses in technology in society, you simply choose your own course from a wide range listed in the catalog.

The requirements in engineering fundamentals are outlined in Table 13-3.

Table 13-3 Engineering Fundamentals (13 Units Minimum)

Table 13-4 outlines Stanford’s requirements for writing.

Table 13-4 Writing in the Major (13 Units Minimum)

The computer science core requirements are covered in Table 13-5.

Table 13-5 Computer Science Core (15 Units)

Note the presence in the Stanford Engineering course requirements of CS 106X, Programming Abstractions (Accelerated), in case plain old CS 106B, Programming Abstractions, isn’t, perhaps, abstract enough for you.

If you do pursue a double major or interdisciplinary program, what you’re doing is likely to be more or less unique. Use your portfolio (see Chapter 16) to create projects that use a wide range of your skills and learning.

You should also consider courses that increase “soft skills,” such as skills in communications and project management. Look for courses where you have to do project work in a team and present the results. Also, some schools offer project management courses that are very career-focused. In some cases, at the end of the class, you can sit for a project management certification, such as the first-level Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate.

Technologists are famously irreverent, and looking at Stanford’s core curriculum for computer science is a good test as to whether you have the “irreverent” gene. To some people, a list like this one instantly raises the question, “How am I going to do all that?” These people instantly go into planning mode.