With all the recent concerns about the economy it may seem like not a great time to start a new career. Often though there are opportunities in unexpected places and in unlikely times. The tech sector is still in relatively good standing and there are still jobs out there going unfilled for lack of qualified applicants. Of all the tech sectors web development is in my opinion one of the easiest ones for a newcomer to get entry into. How do I know this? Well, that's how I got my start 13 years ago.

After getting injured while working in construction I had an opportunity to retrain into a new field. At that time the world wide web  was just beginning and there wasn't truly an industry yet. I had very limited computer experience of any sort and I had a very short time frame within which to get my training. I had only 1 calendar year to cram in as many classes as possible. Oh, I also had a new family to support so once the state stopped paying for classes, I had to have a job.

I looked at all the different opportunities out there but there was no way that I was going be able to complete all of the needed training and certifications. Besides most of them looked pretty darn dull, or they didn't pay enough to make it worthwhile. I started taking computer design classes since I had at one time done some illustration and fine art. I thought maybe that I could leverage some of my limited creativity into a some sort of digital design work. About that time the school I was attending started offering some of the first html and web programming classes in the country. I took that first html class  over a decade ago and I've never looked back. I never would of thought that building web sites would have been so creative, so challenging and so lucrative. Yes I took a risk with limited resources. I spent countless days and nights studying and working on developing my coding skills. I fell asleep at the keyboard  many times(I ended up with the keys imprinted across my forehead in one class!). After one full calendar year of classes I finally graduated in June. One week before my last class ended I was offered my first contract position as web developer at Microsoft. I haven't been out of work even a single day in the 13 years since then. In the first year I tripled my previous best year's income and within 3 years I doubled that again. Anyway, suffice it to say that this industry has been very good to me and I've loved every challenge along the way.

So what makes web development so different from the other tech fields? Web development is unique in that it is constantly changing. Every few months new technology is introduced. Also there are many differing level of technical implementation. Some applications are cutting edge, some are legacy applications that may be several years old. You might deal with abstract data layers or strictly with user experience and visual design. In short there are multitude of slots in a very wide variety of knowledge domains and technologies.

A word about certification programs here.  There are currently no standardized industry wide certifications for the the technologies most in use in web development. There are a few proprietary certifications sponsored by various schools or companies. The reason for this is simple. The web technology landscape constantly changes. Web certification programs are of limited use since they are often out of date by the time that they are available and could be accepted across the industry. The good news is that most web programming interviews particularly for contract positions don't even ask what certifications you might have. The proof is in what you can do. It's painfully obvious to a qualified web programmer  within a few minutes of an interview if you can do the work or not. A certification won't save the interview for you if you haven't done the preparation. Some certifications in web development though can be useful if you have no other experience, but they will absolutely not get you the job. Nothing substitutes for a solid classes developed and taught by instructors with years of industry experience. Here are the top 10  tips to help you choose the right school and classes:

1. Verify that your instructor has recent industry experience. Academic experience by itself is not very useful in an instructor. Interviewers have little or no time or patience for theory. You need to know the processes, tools, and techniques that will allow you to build working real world applications.

2. Be sure that the classes taught are relevant to the specific part of the web development field that you are most interested in. Of course this might change as you become more familiar with the industry you are targeting. You might also find yourself more or less suited by aptitude to different types of  web development careers. See my earlier post for practical details on how this breaks down.

3. Don't hesitate to ask to speak to or contact an instructor if you have questions. Although they might be busy most instructors want you to be happy with their class and can really give you the details about whether or not the class would be suitable for your goals. Unfortunately school staff or counselors may not have all the detailed industry knowledge you might need to make a decision.

4. Ask about placement rates and about available career counseling and tutoring sessions.

5. Ask about testimonials and references from successful former students. Privacy rules may prohibit the schools from allowing you to contact former students directly but schools often maintain a file of testimonials or they may contact students who might be willing to talk with you.

6. Take a look at examples of student projects that have been completed in the class or program you are interested in. You can often tell much about a program from the quality and proficiency level of the projects that the students are capable of completing.

7. If possible ask to sit in on a class. Even a very brief audit of a class will often give you a fair idea of what kind of instruction you can expect from a class or instructor.

8. Ensure that the classes that you are evaluating are appropriate for your current familiarity with technology. Some classes will be suited to those with limited experience, some will require extensive pre-requisite knowledge. It can be difficult for staff to evaluate your level and technology classes often move very fast. You will not be able to catch up if you are behind from the start.

9. Prior to purchasing a personal computer or software to learn on contact the school to see if they have a recommended hardware/software setup. Often schools will have access to academic or other discounts. Some will even have programs to help you build your own!

10. Be committed to an investment in your future. This isn't easy. If it were everyone would be doing it. Be willing to do the work needed to really understand the class material and it's application. The class itself will only be able to take you so far. For every hour of class count on 2-4 hours of working on projects on your own outside of class.

In these difficult economic times remember that he web is unique because it is often the lowest cost way for businesses to do business. Do you need to communicate with far flung enterprises? - the web is the solution. Need exposure to millions of targeted consumers? - the web is the solution. Need to track customers, inventory and vendors across the globe through a multitude of enterprise level applications? the web is the solution. In this age of cost cutting  web development is the technology that will allow business and industry to save the bottom line and stay profitable. Web jobs are here to stay and we are only at the very frontier of the possibilities. I hope to see you in class soon!