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I'm seriously considering enrolling in an online course to gain this qualification in Dreamweaver and a similar one for CIW (Site Development Associate). Does anyone have them already? Have they been useful in jobs/careers, or are they a stepping stone to more learning?
I'm looking to do something new with the idea of changing careers (eventually). I'm just unsure how useful these qualifications are likely to be or if they are only the start.
The course I'm looking at is run by the Home Learning College.
If anyone has any experience or advice it would be much appreciated. Cheers
My experience of working for agencies producing interactive projects of all sorts is that nobody cares about qualifications at all. Spend some time producing stuff that looks great and works well and use that to sell yourself.
My mate had the right idea when he enrolled in a masters course. He spent the whole year doing the bare minimum that he could to remain on the course but spent every waking hour in the 3D modelling studio putting together the best showreel that he possibly could. It was the showreel that got him his first couple of jobs. Im not sure that he even graduated.
I employ a few developers on a freelance basis and its all on portfolios. I can see a qualification might help getting a job at a company, though. If you learn something it can't hurt and it might be useful to give you a push in the right direction
Thanks for that. I'm not sure my skills are quite up to scratch right now to go purely on a portfolio but it's useful information. Cheers
If you're doing the course to get your skills up to scratch and you think you'd learn more following a structured programme than tinkering away in your spare time then I would say that was an excellent reason for doing it. But don't expect employers to take too much notice of the certificate itself.
If it were an interview situation I'd make the most of it by demonstrating that you knew what you wanted to do, realised that there was a skill gap that would hinder your advancement and then took the course as a means to acquire those skills. It explains the reasoning behind taking the course and points out that you are self analytical and proactive. You'll still need examples of work even if they are demo's or personal projects but the ability to see a problem and take steps towards fixing is no bad thing and should earn you potential employer brownie points.