Are you just learning web design? I often get mail from people just starting out who want advice about what to learn. One way to answer that question is to look at some of the required skills for jobs in the web field right now.
Here’s a list of skills needed for a job of Interface Designer:
- Very strong understanding of XHTML/CSS and Javascript (AJAX).
- Experience in XML and XHTML generation using XSLT.
- A passion for usability and web standards
- Experience in basic ASP and/or ASP.NET programming
- Good oral & written communication skills, and documentation discipline
- Basic Photoshop skills
Here’s another looking for a UI designer. They want someone who has
- a healthy dose of development skill
- design a killer mockup and actually produce a slick interface using XHTML/CSS.
- both layout and JavaScript frameworks
Another web designer/developer job posting is looking for someone with these skills:
- DHTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX
- Expert in W3C compliant, cross browser compatible, CSS/HTML development
- Photoshop/Fireworks (or even GIMP)
- Strong knowledge of design basics and principles
It’s always a good idea to run a reality check to make sure you are teaching and/or learning the skills that are actually in demand. That’s why I keep a jobs widget on this site. I hope people teaching college level web classes, in particular, take note of what employers are looking for.
That’s great confirmation for what I’ve been doing for the past few months. I am just beginning my development/training as a web designer and I am currently unemployed so I come across all kinds of job listings. I pay very close attention to UX designer descriptions for libraries/museums as that is the direction I see myself going on. Once again Web Teacher validates my ideas! Thanks so much.
James Neals last blog post.. james3neal: OK saw Synecdoche, New York last night. All I can say is that Charlie Kaufman must be a FREAK and Philip Seymour Hoffman is a GREAT actor.
Good luck on the job hunt, James.