LebGeeks

bskaram

Member

What to do next?

Hello everyone, it's been a long time since I have visited the forums, because I was hooked up on school work and a little project I was working on. And this is my first post in this section!
A brief something about me; I'm a 16 year old Secondary 2 student, getting ready for my SAT on June 4. My first choice of major is Mechanical Engineering at AUB, and I will be submitting at the end of this year.
But last month I volunteered for entering a Web Design contest at the LAU annual science fair, and was in it just for fun. I've never before thought of doing something like this, but found it interesting to join! I had only taken a few html basic courses at school before, but i have no background at designing or anything. Anyway, I started watching some tutorials on the web, learned a little more about html, css, embedding objects and other stuff. So I created and designed a website for my school, it was pretty basic, but had a nice interactive interface, with some flash plugins embedded. I wasn't expecting at all to win, and thought it would just be another new experience. Surprisingly, I won second place in the contest ($150), and I'm really happy about it, since I worked by myself, and didn't ask for much help. As a result, I have developed a new interest in html coding and web design, and I'm really excited to advance in this field.
So I decided to come to this forum to take your advice. Any tips on what I should do next, where to get started, and how to move up in experience. I would really like to go further in this, and am looking forward to working as a web coder, and maybe making some extra money for college along the way!
Thank you forum.

rami

Member

Re: What to do next?

html>css>javascript>(jquery>)php/mysql>frameworks
add linux somewhere

http://w3schools.com/ is a good place to start
WYSIWYG editors like Dreamweaver could prove to be very handy. You can later on move to more professional IDE's like netbeans to write your code.
Also download XAMPP to test your code locally

Last edited by rami (May 6 2011)

rolf

Member

Re: What to do next?

W2school sucks. Sorry i'm just repeating what I read on another site... you should be able to find it if you google for <w3school sucks>, it contains a lot of alternatives.

XhacK

Member

Re: What to do next?

As a result, I have developed a new interest in html coding and web design, and I'm really excited to advance in this field.

I would really like to go further in this, and am looking forward to working as a web coder

From what you are saying, I suppose you are more into Web Design and Front-End Development. And not real Web Development, and this is not a bad thing at all!
I always think that a good web designer should have a good (more than basic) knowledge in HTML, CSS and maybe JS!

So I would recommend you advanced more into this field, no need to get into server-side technologies and Database "stuff" since you may get overwhelmed.

Just a side note about:

and maybe making some extra money for college along the way!

If you ended up doing what I said above you'll need to work with a back-end web developer if you want to make more dynamic websites. But you'll be knowing this by the time that will happen. :-)

rolf

Member

Re: What to do next?

W2school sucks. Sorry i'm just repeating what I read on another site... you should be able to find it if you google for <w3school sucks>, it contains a lot of alternatives.

http://w3fools.com/#what-should-be-done

Kassem

Member

Re: What to do next?

@bskaram: do not take rami's advice, take XhacK's and you'll be on the right track :)

XhacK

Member

Re: What to do next?

W2school sucks. Sorry i'm just repeating what I read on another site... you should be able to find it if you google for <w3school sucks>, it contains a lot of alternatives.

http://w3fools.com/#what-should-be-done

Okay, while I agree with the w3fools guys but hey let us face it. For a beginner, w3school is not a bad place to start at!

And after a while and when you advance more and more into the "web development" world you'll automatically start following other "reputable sources" (taken from the link above).

rami

Member

Re: What to do next?

@bskaram: do not take rami's advice, take XhacK's and you'll be on the right track :)

skot

rolf

Member

Re: What to do next?

W2school sucks. Sorry i'm just repeating what I read on another site... you should be able to find it if you google for <w3school sucks>, it contains a lot of alternatives.

http://w3fools.com/#what-should-be-done

Okay, while I agree with the w3fools guys but hey let us face it. For a beginner, w3school is not a bad place to start at!

Yes, it surely isn't a bad place to start at. I'm just doing my duty :-)
But anyway if you read tutorials on w3schools, beware. It's a good place to start with but only as quick reference... don't go taking any ideas or concepts from there.

Kassem

Member

Re: What to do next?

@bskaram: do not take rami's advice, take XhacK's and you'll be on the right track :)

skot

LOL no offense intended. It's just that I agree with what XhacK said. If he's more into HTML and CSS then he should focus on front-end development. He doesn't need to get into PHP/MySQL or any of the sort.

Joe

Member

Re: What to do next?

@bskaram:

Mabrouk on your second place in the competition. I hope you'll get many more successes

You're wondering what to do next and it is normal. And a lot of people here will tell you what they believe is right. I'm just going to give you simple advices, more like guidelines in how to advance in the field:

Be curious: All the time. Google is your friend. If you want to know how stuff works, launch a Google search, or better, ask on (this) forum. Be willing to learn a lot, it'll get you places.

Be patient: You will be able to design some websites after a few months, but it really takes years to become a guru in the field. In the meantime, you should count hours and hours of practice. Be ready for that :)

Learn programming: Programming is easy and it will expand your horizons. Pick a language, any language, and then find a good tutorial.

Learn other systems: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, WP7, the BSDs, Solaris, ... There are plenty of systems you can try (and should try). Each system will teach you so much more about computers!

Get a university degree: Universities will give you advanced courses on the matter, but will also get you in touch with professionals, as well as making you work on somewhat real-life projects. LAU, AUB, LU, ESIB, there are plenty of good universities in Lebanon, with very good programs.

Kassem

Member

Re: What to do next?

Universities will give you advanced courses on the matter

What you were trying to say is that they will NOT give him advanced courses on the matter. Typo?

I would also like to add that if you're looking to get in touch with professionals that will open up opportunities for you, then LU is not the right university to go to.

bskaram

Member

Re: What to do next?

rami, rolf, XhacK, and Kassem, than you all for your replies, and for clarifying what my real interest is- frontend development. And btw, I already browse in w3schools, they're not so bad.

@rahmu, your reply was more of the kind I was hoping for! I really appreciate your advice, and will try to stick to it as much possible!
I will keep updating you guys on any new developments happening with me.
Peace out