[garrettnelson]

Anybody know where a high-school freshman who's pretty good at designing websites could get a few extra bucks? I'm thinking of more of an online thing, since I can't drive and I live in a hellhole of PC-centred nonculturalism, but, also, being a high school student I'm cheap exploitable labour

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally posted by garrettnelson:
<STRONG>Anybody know where a high-school freshman who's pretty good at designing websites could get a few extra bucks? I'm thinking of more of an online thing, since I can't drive and I live in a hellhole of PC-centred nonculturalism, but, also, being a high school student I'm cheap exploitable labour </STRONG>

You ought to sharpen your skills a bit if you want to earn some money (judging by your examples of course).

Cheers

[garrettnelson]

Ouch! So, then, where do I go to be employed as a slightly below par designer?

[funkboy]

I was in your boat a couple years ago. Heck, I still am, I ain't too old...

Check out my portfolio to see some of the sites I've created... some pretty nice ones in there, along with some pretty crappy ones

The way I started in web design was just going through (cue dramatic music) my parents. The school my mom taught at was my first client... I was paid extremely little, too. But the experience was worth more than much money. I kept working at it, kept playing with websites and such, and (hopefully) have become pretty proficient now. Wish I had more time to work on them right now though, senior year's insanely busy.

My advice would be to talk to your parents, tell them you're really interested in this, and have them mention it to their co-workers/friends/family etc. Also, always mention you do this type of work to people at school. I got my largest clients care of the former assistant principal at my school.

Make some business cards, too. It helps, or at least makes you feel cool

Hope you do well!

[frownyfrank]

This is about the worst time you could pick to start down the career path of web design. Clients are dropping like flies, agencies are closing up shop, and the economy isn't helping.

Plus, there are a ton of unemployed web designers laying around their living rooms in their PJs, waiting for the next position to open up, which means there is very stiff competition for any job. I know a recent position advertised in the paper that got over 200 resumes.

Right now, there is just not enough demand for all the web designers out there. The field expanded so quickly because companies were hiring anybody who could write a &lt;html&gt; tag, which gave every high-school dropout an entrance into a "career". A career with no past, and a vague future.

What I see as some options at this point are:

a) Work on programming and development. Not only do web developers make more money, they are in a more constant demand, as parts of their work are easier to justify to clients than the design side. You _need_ the online store to work, but some companies don't understand the need to make it flow smoothly and look nice. Plus, if you do become a designer, the developers will love you because you won't mess up their code, and can help catch mistakes. Stimulate your right brain by changing the syntax coloring every day.

b) Continue to learn design, but focus on print instead of web. That is an industry that isn't going anywhere, with much more developed educational assistance, and a more realized career path. You could do packaging design, billboard design, branding, etc. Very fun stuff.

While you're in school, take all the illustration and photography classes you can. Composition is a very important skill, and one that is rarely seen well-done on the web, but is what sets good design apart from bad. Plus you'll learn about color and light. Also math is crucial for Flash/Director programming, and/or VB/ASP type code.

Keep offering your web design services, and make all the mistakes you need to to learn while you're doing sites for free. People who get free websites can't complain, and you get to stretch your creative and technical wings. When there is big money on the table, you rarely get to do what you want to do, and mistakes are costly.

Hopefully by the time you are out of school, the economy and the web business will have picked up and gotten it's second wind. But after watching my friends get laid off, and my own career go flatline, I am not to inclined to endorse this seemingly attractive career path.

Hope you get something out of this meandering advice.

Cheers

In case anyone cares...

My website.

[Apple Pro Underwear]

Originally posted by garrettnelson:
<STRONG>Anybody know where a high-school freshman who's pretty good at designing websites could get a few extra bucks? I'm thinking of more of an online thing, since I can't drive and I live in a hellhole of PC-centred nonculturalism, but, also, being a high school student I'm cheap exploitable labour </STRONG>

you seem to be pretty good man. for some reason i think you have the best of the sites in this thread. did you make those by yourself? if you did...i think you have a very nice coding skills. designing wise (what i do) i think you're better than a lot.

go to school, graduate with a degree in something....move to a big city and you'll be fine. but always get better and learn more and more. versatility and overall intelligence is a major key in becoming proffessional in this business.

[Jansar]

Originally posted by - - e r i k - -:
<STRONG>You ought to sharpen your skills a bit if you want to earn some money (judging by your examples of course).

Cheers </STRONG>

You dumb-ass. Those ARE good sites. Keep up the good work, man.

[MinivanH8R]

Don't listen to erik, those are nice sites. Sure, they could be better, but things can always be better.

Like you, I started out by designing a website for my school.

Try going around town to small used-car dealerships. When I lived in Kansas, I lucked out and landed a nice paying job designing and maintaining a small used-car dealership's website. Also, try doing more websites for local schools, especially elementary schools. After I made the website for my high school, every school in the district was practically begging me to do one for them.

Just some things to think about.

[godzookie2k]

I'm not a huge fan of pixelfonts , especially anti-aliased ones,but, I wouldn't say your site is BAD per se. It could use some cleaning up. I would also recommend looking around at small places, used car dealerships, small one-man companies, or even checking your local (I mean, town not city) classifieds for someone looking for a web site. Keep it up, your stuff looks alot better than mine did back in high school

Nick

[garrettnelson]

Thanks for all the input, everyone. I really appreciate the help, and I've taken some of your suggestions to heart. Hopefully if all goes well I may be starting to do some work for someone starting this spring ...

[mitchell_pgh]

put something in your local paper. "Web Design - 7$/hr." You will get a few calls. If they don't like your site, don't worry, someone will. You are OK, Not great, Not bad... keep up the good work.