About Dianne Expertise I have built a total of 15 websites, all in Geocities and all in raw HTML. I have made every mistake in the book, and learnt by them all! You can benefit from my "learning experiences" and I will be happy to offer support and advice, and to answer any question you have on the subject.
Question Describe a typical day/week in this area of work.?
What are the best and worst parts of the job?
What are the future trends in this area?
What are the main issues facing this profession at the moment?
What skills and abilities are needed to do this job?
What experience /skills should I be trying to get to help me get into this area?
What are the prospects for promotion or specialisation?
What training do you get with this sort of job?
How did you get into this job?
Where are jobs like yours advertised?
How much competition is there for vacancies?
How and when do I apply?
Can you give me any tips on the application process?
Answer Happy to help - but I should point out that this is NOT my full-time job (I'm a teacher by profession) so I don't know the answers to all the questions (but I will answer all I can.)
TYPICAL DAY:
MY typical day in computer/website design is power up the computer, check my emails while the kettle boils, delete all "junk mail" unread and answer any emails that need a reply (like this one.) Then, having settled down with tea and toast (dropping crumbs on the computer in the process, much to my son's disgust) I will embark on my latest project (at the moment this is Site Solutions on http://www.geocities.com/site_solutions_uk) . Whatever site I am working on - I have built 19 for myself and organisations I am connected with, plus five others by request from other people - this usually involves creating graphics - background sets, clipart, animations etc. - and then composing the pages. I work entirely in raw HTML as I don't like WYSIWYG editors - they don't do what I want them to do. I usually work for two or three hours in the morning and probably four or five in the late evening - usually on into the small hours of the morning.
BEST AND WORST PARTS :
Best - hearing(reading) people say nice things about the sites I've created.
Worst - computer glitches and crashes (I've learnt to save VERY regularly now!)
TRENDS & ISSUES :
As I'm not a real computer professional, I could only offer you guesswork and that's not what you want!
SKILLS & ABILITIES :
For website design you need to be able to visualise - I can "see" what I want the finished pages to look like in my head before I even start, and I can also visualise how things work so I can plan the HTML layout. I can't explain how I do it, it's all "in my head" - nobody taught me, I didn't learn, it's an inborn ability that I had long before PCs were ever around (oh yes, I'm THAT old, I can remember buying my first computer, a Sinclair ZX81, in 1981 and it was AMAZING!!) I can also draw and paint (another God-given gift over which I have no control - it goes with the ability to "see" things) so not only do I make all my own graphics but I also do my own artwork where other people use public domain pictures or scan in images from cards, etc. (strictly speaking, this is a breach of copyright unless the original artist is credited.)
As for skills - I wish I could type properly (with more than the three fingers I do use) but I can't, it would be a VERY useful skill. I learnt HTML when I got totally frustrated with WYSIWYG, and I'm glad I did, I would recommend it to anyone. I intend tackling JavaScript next, but it's a lot more complicated than HTML.
You also need to be au fait with all the latest programmes so you can answer questions - you don't need to know it all by heart, but you do need to know what people are talking about and where to find specific information when needed.
And, of course, basic computer skills, but that goes without saying.
EXPERIENCE/SKILLS :
I don't know where you live but round here all 15 year olds (and again at 17, if they've stayed on at school) go for a week or fortnight's "work experience" in a field of their choice : if this is applicable to you, you would need to ask for a placement with a website design studio, graphic design studio or computer professional service (and I don't mean PC World or Tandy!!) It also helps to collect as many IT qualifications as you can, at school, college and through independent study.
But the main thing to do is show initiative - and if you haven't built a website of your own to show what you can do, then you'd better start now!
HOW DID I GET INTO THIS JOB :
I've always had an interest in computers (as I said, we've had a computer in the house since 1981, updating frequently as the technology progressed.) I'm also what can be described as "artistic" and in my job as a teacher I have always created a lot of resources, originally entirely "by hand" but moving onto computer processed as the technology became available. Then, over the past couple of years I have had to have a considerable amount of time off work due to illness so I started pottering around the internet to keep myself amused, became interested in the "how" rather than the "what" of websites, and decided to have a go myself. My own websites are all listed on http://www.geocities.com/diannes_websites if you want to have a look at what I've done and all the different styles I've created for myself and friends/associates.
As my sites began to attract visitors I began to get emails wirh questions about my sites, not just the content but how to do things and I eventually created several websites for other people in other parts of the world, communicating entirely by email in the process. I was advised to sign up with AllExperts and since then I've answered a really wide variety of questions and so far (touch wood) have only had one I really couldn't answer.
THE REST OF THE QUESTIONS are all IT-professional-specific and as I explained, before, I'm not! I hope this part-completed questionnaire is of some use to you.
Good luck with processing your results - I hope you find out the information you want/need.
