Today I conducted an interview for a Web Development position on my team. The candidate should be a rockstar Web dev, knowledgeable and well versed in cross-platform/cross-browser XHTML, CSS 2, JavaScript plus one or more scripting languages and/or JSP.

He had all but the JSP bit on his resume, but when interviewed he met none of those requirements and more. Less? Whatever, he wasn't right for the position.

But why?

Because he didn't have even a fundamental understanding of XHTML/HTML (on his resume) or CSS (also on his resume) and JavaScript seemed to be an amorphous entity to him. Despite building and managing Web sites, these things escaped him. Looking back over his resume, I think I've discovered why- DreamWeaver.

WAIT! Before you flame me about the benefits of DreamWeaver, I am not debating its usefulness nor any other thing about it. The point here is that he didn't write any code- the editor did it for him.

Clearly this is a bad way to get a job. If you have something on your resume, you probably should have more than just an idea of what it actually is- you should KNOW it, you should UNDERSTAND it.

For anyone who is considering getting into Web Development or Web Programming (use your own definition for this) there are some tips I'd like to impart to you.

Start early
The Internet, believe it or not, is a great place to help you learn front end things like HTML and CSS. There are a few dozen odd books you can start reading as well. Reading is only part of it though, knowledge is power but unless you have the ability to use it you "ain't got nothing!" so to speak. While you're reading and learning, you should start building Web pages. Find a free site host like Yahoo or Tripod and BUILD. Explore HTML and XHTML, find out why they're different, challenge yourself by trying to find a good looking site and then make one of your own using only XHTML and CSS2 and running it through the W3C validator.

Craft the sword, then learn how to wield it
When you get to the point where you are comfortable with coding and can write nice, valid code. Volunteer to help someone build a Web site. Family, friend's band, your own startup- whatever. The idea here is to get some practice working in HTML. Learn JavaScript (and please note that it and Java are not the same) and play with XML if you can. Write a new template for your blog, if you have one. If you don't- make one for someone else. Get familiar with browsers other than the one you're using right now. If you have access to a Mac (or if you're a Mac user: a PC) look around at your favorite sites and see if they look any different. Look at your own, what's different? If you find some variance between the way your page looks and works in different browsers or computers, fix it. This single thing (aside from actually learning the languages) is going to be your most valuable asset- the ability to code cross browser/platform.


School
Schooling is great, schooling is awesome. If you are in high school, take any classes having to do with the Internet that are available to you. Got a computer lab? Get familiar with it. Learn everything you can about HTTP and then start learning HTML and CSS.

BUT once you get into college, take programming and computer fundamental courses. Maybe even get a CS degree. Why? Because having a good educational background in structured languages will only benefit you, even if you only want to work on the front end.

I know, I know. "What about the Web stuff though? How do you gain any kind of experience in that?" See next paragraph.

Volunteering
While you're taking college courses and burning up some ones money trying to better yourself, give up a few nights a week and find a Web site to volunteer as a developer for. This is much easier than you think. Pick a topic you're interested in, Google it, view the resulting Web pages. Find one you think you can make better and contact the administrator. Tell them you're in school and are looking for a few sites to do some volunteer development on, no charge.

What you're going to gain here are two things: Experience and work history.

Wielding the sword
Education versus experience is a double edged sword. Too much of one and not enough of the other might be ok for some jobs. For those companies that prefer to hire straight out of college, having more education is great, they often don't WANT you to have experience.

The majority of the remaining companies would rather have the experience or experience and some formal education, even if it is only a few classes focused on programming languages or theory.

When I am interviewing, the first thing I look at is wether or not the candidate actually knows the stuff he or she put on their resume. I'll ask simple questions first, because they often have simple answers that require knowledge of the subject. That's the point, actually. If you've told me you know XHTML, then none of the things I aske you should stump you.

What's it worth?
Many new Web devs don't know what they're worth. Sometimes this is a bad thing for more than just the obvious reason of getting underpaid. Thinking you should be paid more than what's reasonable is even worse. There's nothing wrong with wanting a little more. If you're coming into a company at an entry level, especially I should say, especially if you're coming into a company at an entry level, do a little research before your interview to find out what someone in the position you're applying for with your skills and experience gets paid.

50k is honestly not too bad a salary for this kind of work at the entry level. 80k is bordering on unreasonable if you have less than 2 years of consistent work experience (even if most is voluntary) and no or little education. Everything is relative though, in some areas of the country these salaries may seem very high or really low, so hopefully this sheds some light. If you're in a city like Seattle, no way would I take less than 45k unless you really need the work. My friend and colleague here at Wheel Workshop has this advice:


Too true. We've seen too many people who just do the minimum because they are not really interested in their jobs. You can spot right away the person who does what they do because they love it. They know what they're talking about, their eyes blaze with new ideas about how to solve problems and they are good at what they do. The people who do it because it's a job usually have nothing to contribute. They come in, work their hours, go home and that's it.

Hopefully I've managed to actually say something here. If I had to sum it up I guess it would come out something like this: Like it, learn it, love it, do it.