Skills for a web freelancer
September 21, 2010 1:51 PM Subscribe
What should I learn/do to improve my chances of getting a web-related job/be a successful freelancer?
I'm studying something completely unrelated (ELT) so I need every bit of help to overcome the lack of a related degree.
What I know:
WordPress.
(X)HTML and CSS.
A little PHP, mostly related to WordPress theme development.
Generic Windows/Linux/Internet skills.
I have been thinking of:
- Learning a web scripting language, but which one?
- Blogging. But, does the world really need another tech-related blog?
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
I'm studying something completely unrelated (ELT) so I need every bit of help to overcome the lack of a related degree.
What I know:
WordPress.
(X)HTML and CSS.
A little PHP, mostly related to WordPress theme development.
Generic Windows/Linux/Internet skills.
I have been thinking of:
- Learning a web scripting language, but which one?
- Blogging. But, does the world really need another tech-related blog?
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Best answer: I would encourage you to try to get outside of Wordpress-land if possible. It's a great platform, but everyone is doing it. If you'll be advertising yourself based on "I know CMS X" then I would definitely move to something that people will need help with.
Take a look at MODx, SilverStripe, Textpattern, etc. -- I have personal experience with frustrating moments trying to find a reliable person who could help me work with those CMSes. Ripe SEO territory if you're a freelancer and can work with those.
With that said, if I were in your shoes, I would spend most of my time getting out and trying to meet people in areas like marketing and design who could use your experience. That's where you'll find fastest access to your next paycheck, in my experience.
posted by circular at 2:51 PM on September 21, 2010
Take a look at MODx, SilverStripe, Textpattern, etc. -- I have personal experience with frustrating moments trying to find a reliable person who could help me work with those CMSes. Ripe SEO territory if you're a freelancer and can work with those.
With that said, if I were in your shoes, I would spend most of my time getting out and trying to meet people in areas like marketing and design who could use your experience. That's where you'll find fastest access to your next paycheck, in my experience.
posted by circular at 2:51 PM on September 21, 2010
Best answer: I genuinely think related degrees are less important in this field than others. It's one of the places where qualifications tend to be way less meaningful and the quality of the work speaks for itself. Everyone I know who hires is much more interested in hiring on the basis of a portfolio and some experience than academic qualifications. And thank God for that because I just encountered someone with a four year degree who had never encountered FTP.
So if you've got XHTML and CSS, specifically I would say:
1/ Portfolio.
2/ More PHP
3/ Ruby/Rails or Django/Python or
4/ jQuery/Ajax
However, I think there are other ways you can go that will build a portfolio and give you commercial viability in the job market. I know it's not glamourous but developing themes for Envato/Theme Forest gives you some more UI/UE experience if you're interested in design. Developing themes for Magento or Shopify gives you practical experience as well. This is real work that ends up being used by real end users in the actual world and there's CV value in that.
No I do not think the world needs another tech blog and I'm not sure "here's a review of the latest iPhone app or a Nokia Woohoo" lends a lot of credibility anymore. But I would still encourage you to blog your work process and commercial adventures - essentially, building your own brand.
If you can bag an internship or a volunteer role with an online lead, do.
One thing I would caution you to do is not undersell yourself. When you get out into the job market, make sure your CV leads with your relevant experience and you put your degree last. If you have a credible professional body of work, a "new graduate" CV will not do you any favours.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:32 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
So if you've got XHTML and CSS, specifically I would say:
1/ Portfolio.
2/ More PHP
3/ Ruby/Rails or Django/Python or
4/ jQuery/Ajax
However, I think there are other ways you can go that will build a portfolio and give you commercial viability in the job market. I know it's not glamourous but developing themes for Envato/Theme Forest gives you some more UI/UE experience if you're interested in design. Developing themes for Magento or Shopify gives you practical experience as well. This is real work that ends up being used by real end users in the actual world and there's CV value in that.
No I do not think the world needs another tech blog and I'm not sure "here's a review of the latest iPhone app or a Nokia Woohoo" lends a lot of credibility anymore. But I would still encourage you to blog your work process and commercial adventures - essentially, building your own brand.
If you can bag an internship or a volunteer role with an online lead, do.
One thing I would caution you to do is not undersell yourself. When you get out into the job market, make sure your CV leads with your relevant experience and you put your degree last. If you have a credible professional body of work, a "new graduate" CV will not do you any favours.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:32 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Javascript is essential. I would never take seriously a web developer who wasn't at guru level in HTML, CSS and Javascript (in that order). Those three are the foundation. If you can't nail those three down you're not cut out for web development.
posted by brenton at 12:38 PM on September 24, 2010
posted by brenton at 12:38 PM on September 24, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Learn to use the debuggers in both Firefox (i.e., Firebug) and Chrome.
Publish a blog. You need a paper trail and a portfolio to show that you can communicate, and aren't completely full of poop.
Charge more than you think you should. Discounts don't attract business.
posted by gregglind at 2:11 PM on September 21, 2010