thechrisjordan
New Member
Hello! I am a disgruntled insurance salesman in Georgia who, after three years of selling insurance, recently came to the conclusion that I loathe my job and would love to get into web design and interactive media. I came here to seek advice and learn from all of you, with hopes of making a complete career change in the next year.
What I ultimately want to do is operate a small web design/internet marketing business helping small businesses in my area develop a web presence (sites, social media, blogs, etc.) I have no formal background working on computers but I learn quickly and am well versed in HTML/CSS and am getting ready to attempt learning javascript. How much emphasis should I put on learning PHP/MySQL and are there other languages that I need to consider studying?
The biggest question I have is how much coding knowledge do I really need when there are so many templates and open-source options available? Could someone build a legit business using templates, etc?
Secondly, I have thought about taking some distance learning courses, but am hesitant because I can learn so much on my own. Since I want to work for myself and not get hired, would getting formal credentials matter? I know that it would help and it is something I will definitely pursue at some point... but how important would it be in the beginning?
Your input just might save me from a miserable existence snaking around selling insurance!!!
What I ultimately want to do is operate a small web design/internet marketing business helping small businesses in my area develop a web presence (sites, social media, blogs, etc.) I have no formal background working on computers but I learn quickly and am well versed in HTML/CSS and am getting ready to attempt learning javascript. How much emphasis should I put on learning PHP/MySQL and are there other languages that I need to consider studying?
The biggest question I have is how much coding knowledge do I really need when there are so many templates and open-source options available? Could someone build a legit business using templates, etc?
Secondly, I have thought about taking some distance learning courses, but am hesitant because I can learn so much on my own. Since I want to work for myself and not get hired, would getting formal credentials matter? I know that it would help and it is something I will definitely pursue at some point... but how important would it be in the beginning?
Your input just might save me from a miserable existence snaking around selling insurance!!!