August 14, 2010 - 8:18am
w3schools.com
AJ,
Welcome to the world of tech. I know a couple of people who have made this their second career and it has worked out well for them.
There are some great beginner tutorials over at w3schools.com that cover most of the key web development topics. Once you get rolling, you'll start having questions. Usually a Google search will help you find a tutorial video or blog post on how to answer that question.
Beyond the technology itself, it would probably help to get familiar with the mind-set of the web community. Understanding why things are done a certain way is sometimes more valuable than learning a bunch of technical jargon and procedures. Older episodes of this podcast can provide a lot of that; Matt and Rob delved pretty deeply into that area quite often. You might also check out the archives of the BoagWorld.com podcast (currently on hiatus.) I've recently started listening to The Big Web Show, which features interviews with people working in all different areas of the web world, talking about what they do, how they got there, and what motivates them.
After bouncing through various jobs, I landed in tech 20 years ago. It's a pretty broad spectrum, and different specialties have caught my attention over the years. Even focused on web and Internet, there are a lot of areas to choose from. As you're learning, ask God to lead you towards something you can be passionate about, and then run hard after it.
Micah
August 16, 2010 - 1:59am
RE:w3schools.com
I really appreciate that. That's why I'm going this way. God has me going a specific direction with it, as far as I know,. I'm in school for it, I am just one of those who try to learn anything and everything I can about stuff. I'm only 25 and have also done a lot of jobs. I never would have pictured myself going in this direction at all. So I really know this is God.
August 16, 2010 - 2:05am
August 16, 2010 - 10:18am
Welcome
Welcome cordesgalant,
First, let me commend you on returning to school. I'm a big supporter for formal education and so please don't misunderstand this post...in addition to structured classroom instruction, it's also good to make an independent effort to be aware of web standards and the future of the web. Depending on you programs' chairperson, curriculum sometimes significantly lags current best practices. Within the last year, or so, I received a catalog in the mail which featured some type of web certification. Included in their course highlights were imagemaps and frames.
My .02 is to get involved in a tech community, like Geeks & God :). Find good resources, like w3schools and understand best practices like accessibility, semantic markup, and the value of valid code. Do so and you will be making yourself a valuable resource.
Blessings!
-NP
Hey everyone. I am just getting into this. I recently Got into the tech era and love it. I've been laid off and now i'm going to school. I'm taking internet specialist-web design. Like I said, I've never really done anything like that. I was givin a vision of an online ministry that could possibly break out in to other stuff. I was wondering if there was somewhere I might could find some free beginer programs or something just untill I can afford to get the real deal. I appreciate the help!