Should I learn VB? XML

"Sarah" <Sarahbt98@aol.com> wrote:
>
>Hello everyone,
>
>Just wondering if anyone can give me advice here on what to learn next --
>am a fledgling web designer. I'd like to learn a programming language, but
>I'm more of an artist that programmer. Should I just keep going with Photoshop,
>Flash, etc. -- and get really proficient with these programs, and/or ad
a
>programming language, such as VB (know HTML, and the popular web design
programs,
>such as Dreamweaver). Right now I'm doing free lance work = low end web
design:)
>Don't think these folks need XML --then again if I ever want to get out
of
>the low end...
>
>Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Sarah
>
>Sarah Thomson
>Web Design & Graphic Art
>Sarah Thomson Web Design & Graphic Art
>sarahbt98@aol.com
>

Hi Sarah. I'm not sure what advice to give you. On the one hand, as you
realize, there are a lot of "artist" types out there doing web page design
and layout work, and the amount of money you can make doing this can be very
low. There are a few people who make good money doing this, but even most
good web designers don't make much--maybe $30-40K per year at a full-time
job.

Web programmers do make good money. Salaries for full-time work tend to
average $60K+, and many consultants make 100K or more per year programming
for web sites. On the other hand, you describe yourself as being more of
an artist type. Do you really *want* to work as a developer instead of a
graphic artist? Do you have the ability to be a programmer? It takes a
certain mindset to be a programmer at all, and many intelligent people just
don't have it. To be honest, you could probably be a relatively poor programmer
and still make better money than being a good graphic artist. But then at
the end of the day which would be more satisfying. On the other hand, you
might be a great programmer when you get into it and really enjoy the work.
Certainly the place to start is to learn some programming and play around
with it. I'd recommend Javascript to play with, since you already do web
design and even minimal Javascript ability will help you nicely in your web
work. If you like it and want to move towards a career in software development,
I'd then recommend Java not VB, since MS is in the process of completely
changing VB, the syntax, and how it will work in the future.

Good luck,

Matthew Cromer
President, SDA Consulting, Inc.