For a while, web development was certainly considered an excellent career to be a part of. It paid well, came with great career prospects, and was an interesting choice for those who were familiar with computers.
The internet has been around for a while now, so if you're like us, you might be wondering if all of this is still true for web development. It's been a long time since having a website was something special and it's fair to say that being in web development was seen in a similar light.
For anyone looking to study web development or make the jump into a new industry, it's important to know if this is still the case. After all, there are plenty of careers that were traditionally considered good and safe choices which isn't necessarily true anymore.
Let's see if web development is still in demand, if it still pays well, and, if it's still worth getting into, how you can get started, and the qualifications you'll need.
Is Web Development Still in Demand in 2023?
For any career to be in demand, you basically need to have job openings and the outlook for web development jobs is excellent.
For one, there are tens of thousands of new job openings each year and this is predicted to continue for the next decade. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates around to 18,000 web development job openings from now until the end of the decade.
Across all jobs in the next decade, the growth rate is expected to be around 8%, but in web development, this rate is closer to 13%. On average, web development is more likely to have more job openings than a lot of other career choices.
Within web development, there are also many trends to watch carefully. For one, JavaScript is the programming language in demand but Java is also becoming more popular again.
Web development is also shifting towards a greater focus on data so most web developers need a background or education in data analysis. Naturally, for those already in web development, additional training may be required. Those currently studying web development are in luck as they can focus more of their studies on data analysis through various electives at college.
Web development, like a lot of other careers, is also making the shift towards more remote work. This means that more job openings will be available to more people as the openings won't be as limited geographically.
In short, you needn't worry about moving into web development as the outlook is good and even if you consider the time it'll take to get an education in web development or get the necessary qualifications, there are many promising careers om wen development.
Is Web Development High Paying?
While it's certainly nice to know that there'll be jobs out there in a given career, very few of us want to work for free, even if it's doing something we love.
The salary is a hugely important factor for many when it comes to their career, especially if you haven't fully decided what you want to do. If you're still thinking about web development, you probably want to know exactly how much you can expect to earn in the industry.
In the US, the average web developer earns around $82,000 a year with a range between $50,000 and $132,000 a year. Like many other careers, the salaries in web development increase with experience, and someone new to web development earns an average of $72,000.
As they reach the end of their first decade in web development, the average salary is closer to $95,000 and those with over a decade of experience can command over $100,000 a year.
Naturally, these are just averages and the salary will also depend on exactly what kind of web development you're doing, who you're doing it for, and the scope and scale of the projects that you're working on.
Location will also affect your earning potential with certain parts of the country offering greater salaries than others. Places with a higher cost of living tend to offer greater salaries as they need to attract talent to the area and make working there worth their while. However, you can also boost your earning potential by learning in-demand skills and making your profile stand out against other candidates.
Web developers can also greatly boost their earning potential by putting themselves in a position where they're suitable for management roles. With management positions, median web developer managerial positions command over $150,000 a year. Of course, these roles can be significantly different and mightn't even be what aspiring web developers are interested in.
What Degrees or Qualifications are Best for Web Development?
Before you can start looking for work in web development, you'll need the skills and qualifications relevant to web development and while you can always develop these skills yourself and look for work, having a qualification in web development can help put you towards the top of the recruitment pile.
Generally, a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field will help a lot. If you're thinking about becoming a web developer, degrees in web development, computer science, computer programming, information technology, or software engineering could all be viable options.
Don't forget that data analysis is also going to become even more important in the future so it's worthwhile making sure that the college you're looking to attend will have options in this area. A lot of the best programs in web development, computer science, or similar will likely have data analysis and data science options, but it's always a good idea to check first.
What Other Qualifications Should a Web Developer Have?
Beyond a degree, certain specific skills are useful to web developers. For example, experience, training, or qualifications in user experience (UX), user interface (UI), visual design, HTML, CSS, frontend programming languages like JavaScript, and backend web programming languages like C#, Java, PHP, and Ruby are all useful.
Most comprehensive web development degree programs will likely cover a lot of these, but you mightn't have the time or the schedule to cover them all in enough depth.
Once you graduate, there are always options for more training in these areas. It's a good idea to have them in mind and though you won't need all these skills, it's useful to be aware of what they are and how they'll help you become a web developer or even land a job in web development.
How to Get Started in Web Development
As with any career, getting started can be really difficult and web development is no exception. Even though there are excellent degree programs out there and even a lot of jobs out there for web developers, for those with no experience or very little experience, things can be tough.
The vicious cycle of needing the experience to land a job and needing a job to get experience also applies to web development.
It's never fun to get rejected for a job, but if you can, it's always worthwhile asking potential employers for feedback on your application. You may get invaluable insights into the kinds of skills that they're looking for and what your application was lacking.
From there, you can work on said skills or highlight them more in applications, your résumé, or your portfolio.
Can You Get Into Web Development with No Experience?
There are ways to get into web development with no experience. After all, every new web developer has to start somewhere. Web development is an area where there are a few ways to gain experience without employment so if a lack of experience is stopping you from finding work, here's what you can do.
Firstly, a web developer can build a portfolio site. This is a great way to show off what you can do even if you haven't had any jobs in web development yet. Do some research into what your prospective employers would be looking for and put together sample projects that would meet their needs.
If you can't find a full-time job in web development, you can always look for freelance projects. A few smaller projects that involve aspects of web development could be really useful for both your portfolio and job applications.
Beyond your own portfolio, you can also work on open-source projects or in hackathons, which are short collaborative projects that programmers or web developers can do with others for fun. The goal of hackathons, which normally last a day or two, is to complete a small project.
Can You Teach Yourself Web Development?
Don't forget that web development and many related skills can be learned online and through practise. If you're ever struggling to find work and need to develop new skills, there are plenty of resources out there and many of them are available for free so you can improve future applications without needing to spend any more.
Once you have the profile that potential employers are looking for, you're far more likely to land that first job in web development!
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