What opportunities are there for people with an AAS in Web Development

[stickybrit]

I already have a BA, but I'm trying to go back to school for Web Development.

I'm looking to go to my local community college to get my AAS degree. The ONLY reason I'm not getting another Bachelors is because of the price. I can't get loans on a second Bachelors and I don't have the money to pay for another Bachelors out of pocket.

Does anyone with an AAS in web development have a nice success story they can share, where they learned a strong fundamental understanding of programming/development at their community college and went on to have a successful career?

Any and all answers are greatly appreciated!

[aj_nsc]

I don't have what you're looking for, but don't count out my opinion just yet.

I would definitely steer clear of degree programs (whether they be AAS, Bachelors, Masters, whatever) - they tend to be (TEND) dated and in the world of web development, everything needs to be current.

If you want to take a couple of courses in certain areas like HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, MySQL, etc. to start you off, give it a shot, but I am a huge proponent of being learning this stuff yourself (with a great place like webdeveloper.com to turn to when you need help).

As far as what it does to your resume, sure, some places will look and see that you don't have a degree and count you out immediately, but the really good places (the ones where you want to work) will look at your portfolio rather than where you went to school.

[criterion9]

I recently completed by BS in CIS at Devry. The program mostly stayed clear of syntax specific or technology specific concepts and instead focused on general concepts such as general programming theory. It covered concepts such as OOP, SOA, and the like which is still highly relevant. Plus I found out they are adding a PHP sub program for those who wish to focus on PHP in place of ASP, Java, or C++.

[slaughters]

...Does anyone with an AAS in web development have a nice success story they can share...!My wife started out dirt poor. Living on her own at 18 without support from any parents. She worked at McDonalds and Macys as she studied programming at a Community Collage. With her 2 year degree she was able to get a job outside of retail, which then allowed her to make enough money to attend night school and go after her 4 year degree. After getting her BS she then went on to get a Grad Degree (all while working full time and attending night school).

All of this took years and years (10 or 15). But she is now working as a Manager of a Marketing Data Analyst group for a global energy corporation.

The point is that life is about a lot of little steps that allow you to keep going. Each small step she took brought her just that much closer to her goal.

I've told my children, "If you try there is no guarantee you'll succeed. If you don't try though, you are guaranteed to fail."

[ryanbutler]

I have an AAS in web, but recently got my BS last fall. W/out the latter, I couldn't find a job that was decent, with decent pay and benefits.