Can I Get a Web Design Job with an Information Technology Degree?

Can I get a Web Design Job with an Information Technology Degree?

Finding a web design job is not something that requires some magical formula that only a few people are privy to. In truth, this type of work is accessible to a broad range of people with a broad range of skills and most college graduates don’t even get a job in the direct field they studied. In general, clients are looking for a specific set of skills over a specific type of degree. However, there are instances where the type of degree you have can absolutely have an impact on whether or not you get a specific job. Often, getting any type of job is about understanding how to leverage the unique aspects of your degree into assets instead of detriments.

What Really Matters

It should be said that for most web development positions the most important thing you have going for you is your portfolio. Your portfolio is comprised of a group of websites that you have either built yourself or implemented functionality within. This can be a full design you built yourself or even just a unique plug-in that you wrote the code for. The portfolio needs to be full of your strongest work and it can be the single most important thing working in your favor. It is not uncommon for people without any degree at all to get a web design job based on nothing but the strength of their portfolio. After all, business owners often don’t care about what you went to school for as long as you have the ability to deliver what you say you can deliver.

How an Information Technology Degree Can Help

It should be noted that there are definitely going to be times where a web design job listing will explicitly state that you need some kind of degree. If you have an information technology degree, then this can be directly applied to any web design job you may come across. While they may not seem necessarily related on the surface, the truth is that there are a number of connections you can draw between a web design job and an information technology degree.

First of all, this degree provides you with a grounding in how networks operate and how to work within the set parameters this sets down. This provides you with a strongly analytical perspective when dealing with complex computer issues. The ability to approach code in an analytical way is a large bonus in your favor.

Also, a degree in information technology provides you with a broad understanding of of how a wide range of programs, operating systems and hardware components work together. This can actually be more important than anything since it shows that you are a versatile worker who can adapt to a broad range of changing situations and computing environments. Having the ability to at least learn new systems and programs in a predictably efficient way can be one of the most important assets you bring to the table.

Putting it All Together

In the end, employers hiring for this type of work want the same thing any other employer wants. They want to hire someone who can deliver high-quality work while working well with a group of colleagues. If you can show that you’re capable of doing these things at a high level, then you will be surprised at how many web design job opportunities there are for you.