Should I become a Web Developer?
November 7, 2015 5:22 PM Subscribe
I'm not sure if this career choice is right for me. Details inside.
I need some career/life advice. I'm a 39 year old woman who has never found a career path. I spent a large chunk of my early life battling severe depression and social phobia. I have a degree from a small college in Anthropology but I worked low-paying retail jobs until just two years ago when a dedicated friend helped me to overcome my negative thinking long enough to land an administrative job.
Within the context of this job, I've learned HTML / CSS and a small amount of PHP and JavaScript. I've been thinking about becoming a web developer but have concerns:
1. I don't really enjoy the back-end coding. I'm having a hard time with JavaScript especially object oriented. I'm not sure this is really my thing as I'm very visual rather than logical. I DO enjoy the design aspect of making webpages and using CSS.
2. My brother and sister both work in software fields and while they make good salaries and seem to enjoy their work, they also seem stressed by it and have to work overtime / out of town quite a bit. This career would be in the "work to live" camp for me, so I wouldn't want a job taking up too much of the free time that I spend on my hobbies.
3. I'm not really into technology in general. I love being outside, hate offices without windows, don't own a smart phone. I don't love tech for tech's sake. I would like to work for a company that truly helps people.
Given all of this, I'm thinking that maybe I should learn WordPress and try to get a job with a non-profit, focus on Design and front-end Development specifically, or...find a different line of work to pursue.
My main interest in Web Development is that it pays pretty well (and with my crappy work history I have little savings and I'm almost 40), I don't hate it, and jobs are available. If I tried to do something else, I don't know what it would be. Career questionnaires always tell me to be an artist, but I need an income.
Thanks!
I need some career/life advice. I'm a 39 year old woman who has never found a career path. I spent a large chunk of my early life battling severe depression and social phobia. I have a degree from a small college in Anthropology but I worked low-paying retail jobs until just two years ago when a dedicated friend helped me to overcome my negative thinking long enough to land an administrative job.
Within the context of this job, I've learned HTML / CSS and a small amount of PHP and JavaScript. I've been thinking about becoming a web developer but have concerns:
1. I don't really enjoy the back-end coding. I'm having a hard time with JavaScript especially object oriented. I'm not sure this is really my thing as I'm very visual rather than logical. I DO enjoy the design aspect of making webpages and using CSS.
2. My brother and sister both work in software fields and while they make good salaries and seem to enjoy their work, they also seem stressed by it and have to work overtime / out of town quite a bit. This career would be in the "work to live" camp for me, so I wouldn't want a job taking up too much of the free time that I spend on my hobbies.
3. I'm not really into technology in general. I love being outside, hate offices without windows, don't own a smart phone. I don't love tech for tech's sake. I would like to work for a company that truly helps people.
Given all of this, I'm thinking that maybe I should learn WordPress and try to get a job with a non-profit, focus on Design and front-end Development specifically, or...find a different line of work to pursue.
My main interest in Web Development is that it pays pretty well (and with my crappy work history I have little savings and I'm almost 40), I don't hate it, and jobs are available. If I tried to do something else, I don't know what it would be. Career questionnaires always tell me to be an artist, but I need an income.
Thanks!
That aside, you don't sound like you'd be better cut out to be a designer than developer
Derp, that should be "That aside, you sound like you'd be better cut out to be a designer than developer."
posted by Candleman at 5:58 PM on November 7, 2015 [3 favorites]
Derp, that should be "That aside, you sound like you'd be better cut out to be a designer than developer."
posted by Candleman at 5:58 PM on November 7, 2015 [3 favorites]
I think if you only basically tolerate it and want security, it'd be a hard job to do, you'd probably find yourself with a lot of obstacles along the way.
Design, sure - although I think limiting your options to small charities (especially if you're thinking a design-only job) might make it hard to find work, depending on where you live. If you expand your target environment to include larger charities or small companies, why not?
I think, though, that if your only real interest in those jobs is security, also reconsider other fields that would give you just a little more than a paycheck to make it through the day. Are you in a situation where more education or retraining is a possibility?
posted by cotton dress sock at 6:42 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Design, sure - although I think limiting your options to small charities (especially if you're thinking a design-only job) might make it hard to find work, depending on where you live. If you expand your target environment to include larger charities or small companies, why not?
I think, though, that if your only real interest in those jobs is security, also reconsider other fields that would give you just a little more than a paycheck to make it through the day. Are you in a situation where more education or retraining is a possibility?
posted by cotton dress sock at 6:42 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: More education / retraining is a possibility, but one that would involve going into debt. If I had a career in mind that I was passionate about it would be worth it, but right now I don't.
posted by seraph9 at 6:58 PM on November 7, 2015
posted by seraph9 at 6:58 PM on November 7, 2015
Best answer: Got it. (I was going to go way out on a limb and suggest landscape architecture, which pays pretty well [more than e.g. horticulture, which was another thought, but I think that's retail-level income]. But it does require specific training.) I think in that case that design is the way to go.
I understand that it might feel like you need a sense of mission, that maybe working for a non-profit could provide. I've worked at non-profits, and my feeling is that the mission is fine, but it can feel sort of distant in your day-to-day, if you're not doing front-line stuff. I think the environment, management, and people you work with are more impactful, in terms of how work *feels*.
So would definitely open things up to private companies (and universities and colleges) - the atmosphere might turn out to be better than it would at a non-profit. And agree with you on looking for 9-5 type roles, and just focusing on making yourself comfortable, and earning enough to save and give you the freedom to do the things you want to do in your life and art.
And who knows where it could lead? Somewhere unexpected, maybe.
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:30 PM on November 7, 2015
I understand that it might feel like you need a sense of mission, that maybe working for a non-profit could provide. I've worked at non-profits, and my feeling is that the mission is fine, but it can feel sort of distant in your day-to-day, if you're not doing front-line stuff. I think the environment, management, and people you work with are more impactful, in terms of how work *feels*.
So would definitely open things up to private companies (and universities and colleges) - the atmosphere might turn out to be better than it would at a non-profit. And agree with you on looking for 9-5 type roles, and just focusing on making yourself comfortable, and earning enough to save and give you the freedom to do the things you want to do in your life and art.
And who knows where it could lead? Somewhere unexpected, maybe.
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:30 PM on November 7, 2015
I'm a web developer.
I think there are options available to work for companies whose work you find meaningful (I currently work in such a place). I don't think that's a reason to rule out any technical job, since any field is going to need technical work nowadays.
You'll have to decide for yourself if you can be happy working in an office.
I think you're right to lean away from programming oriented jobs to ones that focus more on design. It sounds like that's more what you're interested in, and if you don't find the technical aspects of programming interesting in themselves, you're unlikely to have the drive it takes to get good at it. I'm not design-focused myself, but my impression is that having good design skills, the ability to implement them in Wordpress, and some light programming ability to back it up is a solid basis to get a job in a lot of environments. I'd focus on really getting design skills down, though -- make sure you have very good knowledge of both design principles and the software you'll be using to implement your designs (Adobe Creative Suite and Wordpress).
posted by mister pointy at 1:21 AM on November 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
I think there are options available to work for companies whose work you find meaningful (I currently work in such a place). I don't think that's a reason to rule out any technical job, since any field is going to need technical work nowadays.
You'll have to decide for yourself if you can be happy working in an office.
I think you're right to lean away from programming oriented jobs to ones that focus more on design. It sounds like that's more what you're interested in, and if you don't find the technical aspects of programming interesting in themselves, you're unlikely to have the drive it takes to get good at it. I'm not design-focused myself, but my impression is that having good design skills, the ability to implement them in Wordpress, and some light programming ability to back it up is a solid basis to get a job in a lot of environments. I'd focus on really getting design skills down, though -- make sure you have very good knowledge of both design principles and the software you'll be using to implement your designs (Adobe Creative Suite and Wordpress).
posted by mister pointy at 1:21 AM on November 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
You could fairly easily get a front-end developer job for an organization like a nonprofit or in healthcare. And there are intensive education programs that last a couple months and will run you a few thousand dollars. Many cities have supportive women-focused coding groups such as Girl Develop It.
However, front-end development these days requires a thorough knowledge of responsive design and other techniques for designing interfaces across all screen sizes--desktop to phone. (And watches, depending on your industry/product.) That's because websites that aren't usable on smartphones are becoming relics. 15% of Americans use only their smartphones for getting online. In fact, the number of mobile-only internet users now exceeds desktop-only users.
So if you're not that interested in learning everything there is to know about developing for mobile user interfaces, then this is probably not the field for you.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 4:01 AM on November 8, 2015 [5 favorites]
However, front-end development these days requires a thorough knowledge of responsive design and other techniques for designing interfaces across all screen sizes--desktop to phone. (And watches, depending on your industry/product.) That's because websites that aren't usable on smartphones are becoming relics. 15% of Americans use only their smartphones for getting online. In fact, the number of mobile-only internet users now exceeds desktop-only users.
So if you're not that interested in learning everything there is to know about developing for mobile user interfaces, then this is probably not the field for you.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 4:01 AM on November 8, 2015 [5 favorites]
Best answer: I'm a digital strategist, and I have a staff person with the title "web content specialist." She knows a little HTML and CSS, but mostly her role is to take the content that needs to go on our website and make it look nice. She also ensures consistency in not only visual layout but also the tone and style of the copy across all of our pages. She's basically the go-between between our content creators and our web developers. It's a little bit of development (though not much), a little bit of graphic design, a little bit of copyediting, and a little bit of UX. We are in the marketing department, not IT, but we work very closely with the web developers.
So that job does exist, pays decently, and at least at my company the work/life balance is great.
Another thing you might enjoy if you like organizing content is content strategy, which can have some visual elements and input into web design without doing the coding yourself.
All companies need websites, and any company putting out online content needs it to be well organized, serve the goals of the website, meet the users' needs, be well written, be Google-able, etc. Smart organizations have someone on staff to help with this, though I'd be surprised if a very small org did. (Smaller orgs tend to either do without or have someone who already has a job add it to their plate. My company has about 65 staff, to give you a sense of our scale.) At a very small organization, especially a non-profit, you'd be more likely to be the person doing the social media, email campaigns, print campaigns, AND running the website, which might include some design stuff over a wordpress template.
IMO, to be able to do a tech or tech-adjacent job well, you really do need to be a user of tech yourself. My staff and I call ourselves the "user advocates" in that a huge part of our job is to put ourselves in our users' shoes and make sure what we're creating is useful, comprehensible, and engaging. We can't do that if we don't know what it's like to be a user of digital content or are not up on digital trends (and that includes mobile, since all websites need to be responsive.)
posted by misskaz at 7:54 AM on November 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
So that job does exist, pays decently, and at least at my company the work/life balance is great.
Another thing you might enjoy if you like organizing content is content strategy, which can have some visual elements and input into web design without doing the coding yourself.
All companies need websites, and any company putting out online content needs it to be well organized, serve the goals of the website, meet the users' needs, be well written, be Google-able, etc. Smart organizations have someone on staff to help with this, though I'd be surprised if a very small org did. (Smaller orgs tend to either do without or have someone who already has a job add it to their plate. My company has about 65 staff, to give you a sense of our scale.) At a very small organization, especially a non-profit, you'd be more likely to be the person doing the social media, email campaigns, print campaigns, AND running the website, which might include some design stuff over a wordpress template.
IMO, to be able to do a tech or tech-adjacent job well, you really do need to be a user of tech yourself. My staff and I call ourselves the "user advocates" in that a huge part of our job is to put ourselves in our users' shoes and make sure what we're creating is useful, comprehensible, and engaging. We can't do that if we don't know what it's like to be a user of digital content or are not up on digital trends (and that includes mobile, since all websites need to be responsive.)
posted by misskaz at 7:54 AM on November 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks to everyone taking the time to reply :)
Want to clarify that I realize I will have to develop for all forms of interfaces and the importance of making websites responsive. Perhaps I do need to get a smart phone if I'm serious about this line of work. I just tend to financially prioritize things other than the latest tech and gadgets.
It's great to hear that there are other options that are more front-end and design oriented. I'll look into the web content aspect as well. Any other of these kind of career trajectory suggestions are welcome! I agree with consensus here that design is a better fit for me.
posted by seraph9 at 11:38 AM on November 8, 2015
Want to clarify that I realize I will have to develop for all forms of interfaces and the importance of making websites responsive. Perhaps I do need to get a smart phone if I'm serious about this line of work. I just tend to financially prioritize things other than the latest tech and gadgets.
It's great to hear that there are other options that are more front-end and design oriented. I'll look into the web content aspect as well. Any other of these kind of career trajectory suggestions are welcome! I agree with consensus here that design is a better fit for me.
posted by seraph9 at 11:38 AM on November 8, 2015
Best answer: I'm a front-end developer, and based on my experience, I agree that you will probably not enjoy roles with the word "developer" or "engineer" in the title, even front-end roles.
Have you thought about exploring user experience (UX) design? I've met a few people who did some UX design bootcamps and got jobs right away; people with those skills are very much in demand. HTML/CSS/JavaScript experience is generally considered a bonus for UX designers, rather than a hard requirement. It would behoove you to get a smartphone if you go that route, since mobile devices account for such a large percentage of internet traffic.
While UX design isn't necessarily helping people in a heal-the-world sense, you'll get the chance to design products that solve problems for people, or at least make their interaction with a piece of software relatively painless. If you can find UX work with an organization you care about (or at least don't actively dislike), you would definitely come home each Friday knowing you'd spent your week working to reduce stress for people who use your product. That's not nothing.
posted by Owlcat at 6:01 PM on November 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Have you thought about exploring user experience (UX) design? I've met a few people who did some UX design bootcamps and got jobs right away; people with those skills are very much in demand. HTML/CSS/JavaScript experience is generally considered a bonus for UX designers, rather than a hard requirement. It would behoove you to get a smartphone if you go that route, since mobile devices account for such a large percentage of internet traffic.
While UX design isn't necessarily helping people in a heal-the-world sense, you'll get the chance to design products that solve problems for people, or at least make their interaction with a piece of software relatively painless. If you can find UX work with an organization you care about (or at least don't actively dislike), you would definitely come home each Friday knowing you'd spent your week working to reduce stress for people who use your product. That's not nothing.
posted by Owlcat at 6:01 PM on November 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Want to clarify that I realize I will have to develop for all forms of interfaces and the importance of making websites responsive. Perhaps I do need to get a smart phone if I'm serious about this line of work.
Yes, you do. It would be just as egregious a presumption to design desktop interfaces without being intimately familiar with desktop interfaces from having used them firsthand.
I agree with the suggestion(s) to look into content strategy. People to read: Kristina Halvorsen, Erin Kissane, Karen McGrane. NB: McGrane is into the intersection of content strategy and responsive design. e.g., NPR's COPE (create once, publish everywhere) content strategy.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 6:20 AM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yes, you do. It would be just as egregious a presumption to design desktop interfaces without being intimately familiar with desktop interfaces from having used them firsthand.
I agree with the suggestion(s) to look into content strategy. People to read: Kristina Halvorsen, Erin Kissane, Karen McGrane. NB: McGrane is into the intersection of content strategy and responsive design. e.g., NPR's COPE (create once, publish everywhere) content strategy.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 6:20 AM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
This is now effectively crippling for a web developer. That aside, you don't sound like you'd be better cut out to be a designer than developer, so if you do want to pursue a web related path, that's what I'd advise.
posted by Candleman at 5:37 PM on November 7, 2015 [4 favorites]