Thoughts on Adobe Web Design Courses Examined

By Jason Kendall

If you're considering being a web designer, find a course in Adobe Dreamweaver. To facilitate Dreamweaver commercially in web design, an in-depth understanding of the whole Adobe Web Creative Suite (which includes Flash and Action Script) is without doubt a bonus. Having this knowledge will mean, you might lead on to becoming an ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) or an ACE (Adobe Certified Expert).

The construction of the website only scratches the surface of the skill set required though - to drive traffic to the site, maintain its content, and work with dynamic database-driven sites, you will need additional programming skills, such as HTML, PHP and MySQL. It would also be a good idea to gain a good understanding of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and E-Commerce.

Far too many companies only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and completely miss the reasons for getting there - getting yourself a new job or career. You should always begin with the end in mind - don't get hung-up on the training vehicle. Never let yourself become part of the group who set off on a track that sounds really 'interesting' and 'fun' - and end up with a plaque on the wall for a career they'll never really get any satisfaction from.

Prioritise understanding the exact expectations industry will have. Which precise qualifications they'll want you to gain and how you'll go about getting some commercial experience. You should also spend a little time thinking about how far you think you'll want to progress your career as it may affect your choice of qualifications. Chat with someone who has a background in the industry you're considering, and could provide a detailed description of what to expect in that role. Researching these areas before beginning a learning programme will prevent a lot of wasted time and effort.

Many training companies will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance facility, to help you get your first job. Don't get overly impressed with this service - it's easy for companies marketing departments to overplay it. At the end of the day, the still growing need for IT personnel in the United Kingdom is what will make you attractive to employers.

CV and Interview advice and support may be available (alternatively, check out one of our sites for help). Make sure you bring your CV right up to date straight away - not after you've qualified! It's not uncommon to find that junior support roles have been bagged by students who are in the process of training and haven't even passed a single exam yet. This will at the very least get your CV into the 'possible' pile and not the 'no' pile. The top companies to help you find a job are generally specialist locally based employment services. As they're keen to place you to receive their commission, they're perhaps more focused on results.

A slight aggravation for a number of training providers is how much men and women are prepared to study to get top marks in their exams, but how ill-prepared they are to market themselves for the position they have qualified for. Don't give up when the best is yet to come.

Any program that you're going to undertake has to build towards a fully recognised major accreditation at the end - definitely not some 'in-house' diploma - fit only for filing away and forgetting. All the major IT organisations like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe each have nationally recognised proficiency programs. Major-league companies like these will make sure you're employable.

When did you last consider your job security? Typically, this issue only becomes a talking point when we get some bad news. However, The cold truth is that true job security is a thing of the past, for most of us. When we come across increasing skills shortages coupled with increasing demand of course, we generally locate a fresh type of market-security; driven forward by the conditions of constant growth, organisations are struggling to hire enough staff.

The IT skills-gap across Great Britain falls in at just over twenty six percent, as reported by the 2006 e-Skills investigation. Showing that for every four jobs that are available throughout computing, we've only got three properly trained pro's to perform that task. This fundamental reality reveals the urgent need for more properly trained computing professionals throughout the country. As the Information Technology market is developing at such a quick pace, there really isn't any other area of industry worth taking into account for your new career.

Commercial qualifications are now, without a doubt, taking over from the traditional routes into the industry - but why is this the case? With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, industry has of necessity moved to specific, honed-in training that can only be obtained from the actual vendors - in other words companies like Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA. This frequently provides reductions in both cost and time. Many degrees, as a example, can often get caught up in a great deal of background study - with a syllabus that's far too wide. Students are then prevented from getting enough specific knowledge about the core essentials.

In simple terms: Commercial IT certifications let employers know exactly what you're capable of - it says what you do in the title: as an example - I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Planning and Maintaining a Windows 2003 Infrastructure'. Consequently an employer can identify just what their needs are and what certifications will be suitable to deal with those needs. - 29852

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