Education Question

[ckatgo]

Hello! I am new to the site and new to the industry and I had a question I would like to ask.

I have a BA in Psychology and I am going to make the leap over to my dream job of being a web designer. I am being told by people I talk to that I do not need a BS in Computer Science to do this. I don't have far to go to get the CS degree and would consider going ahead with it, if it was indeed necessary given the current state of the industry. The problem is I don't know personally any web designers or people that work in web development.

My question is this, is a degree really needed? Would certifications and maybe an associates get me there just as well? If so, what certifications are needed?

Thank you, I am sure you guys get TONS of these questions and appreciate you tolerating one more. Once again, thank you.

Kat

[Mr. E. Cryptic]

If you're talking from the prespective of getting a job: In my experience, qualifications are secondary to portfolios of work, and in some cases don't mean much at all. (of course, having them's never a bad thing - and they may be needed for certain jobs).

Either way, I'd suggest that while in the learning process, you pick up a few tit-bits of work (for local businesses etc), even if you've to do them for free or next to free, just to build up a porfolio for when you do go job-hunting.

[Jeff Mott]

I think most technical people consider a degree worthless, so a degree is only for the benefit of HR departments. And I think a BS, regardless of the field, is enough to appease them.

But you will need the skills to do the job, and, as Mr. E. Cryptic said, a portfolio to demonstrate those skills.