Every time I hit the “Tech” tab on my RSS reader I find another web enabled device has hit the market. Soon you will be considered a caveman if your toaster can’t browse the Internet. People need their web fix, and they need it all the time. No matter what state the economy is in, business is booming on the Internet and everyone who wants to sell anything better have an awesome web presence. And that means websites. Millions of them. Which also means that the demand for people to build those sites is growing  just as fast as the web itself.
Working at home or the office
Aside from the great income web designers can make – and yes we’ll get into actual numbers  – web designers and developers often have the luxury of being able to work from home. Better yet, many designers are independent contractors with their own business, which allows them the potential to earn more than they might working for a company. How is that? Well, let’s say that I bid $500.00 to build a five page website for a company that sells web-enabled toasters. It takes me about 3 hours to come up with the design and another hour or so to add the client’s content. I just made $125/hour, or $500 for an evening’s worth of work. And maybe I even got a free toaster in the deal!
Working for a company on their web team is also a great career choice. As of this writing the latest industry statistics show that Web Designers enjoy a good salary, averaging $50,555 annually. In the United States, compensation runs from entry level starting pay of about $35,000 to $47,000 to $71,500 for experienced web designers. However, Â according to the U.S. Department of Labor, well established and talented Senior Web Designers and Developers can demand salaries well over $100,000.00.
Web Design jobs are staying here
You may have heard news stories about design jobs going overseas, and indeed some jobs have gone that route. However, in my personal experience as a web designer and developer, I have never NEVER lost a job to an overseas contractor. Yes, some very large corporations do business overseas, but small and medium sized companies want to stay local. They want to be able to call their web guy in the morning with an update, and have it live on their site in a timely manner.  Language barriers, time zones and  even cultural differences can mean serious lost revenue for companies that need their sites built and maintained in a timely and professional fashion.
The key to success: learning
Web design is not rocket science, but you need to know your stuff to make it in this field. You DO NOT need a computer degree to be a highly paid web designer or developer. I don’t have a computer degree, but I have made an excellent living  as a designer and developer for the last 10 years. To get started in your web design career, check out our web design course. After all, you want your site to look good on those  toasters…
Steven Taylor taught himself web design before there were any formal courses in the subject. Over the last 10 years he has designed over 250 sites, and developed countless web, mobile and desktop applications. He is the co-founder and CTO of the 