Web design/development job market (Chicago, Raleigh: credit, neighborhoods, college)

[betweenthebars]

Hello everyone,

I'm really interested in moving to Chicago and through this wonderful forum I've been able to answer a lot of my own questions regarding neighborhoods, safety, etc. I'm wondering what the job market is like for web design and development. I have a bachelor's degree in psychology along with college courses in front end development and web design. By the end of this coming Spring semester, I'll have finished my classes, done a web design internship and hopefully a handful of freelance web sites (so far I've done one for a friend and have another potential job in the works). I'm hoping to move at the end of the summer (still a little ways off) so I can save up enough money to live for at least six months while looking for a job.

My main question is how realistic is it to move to Chicago alone with little experience in the field outside what I've mentioned? Is the job market for technology doing well or should I be wary? How about focusing on a freelance career or a small start up? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[marothisu]

My job is detailed around websites and mobile nowadays so I guess I can provide a little insight. There are a number of firms who do this type of thing in town and they're usually known as interactive agencies (or digital agencies). They're more tied to the marketing/advertising side of things, so not every single one does it, but a number do. Razorfish, IBM Interactive, ARC Worldwide, etc all have offices in Chicago and the area for example. Depending on the firm, it could be anything from only a front end redesign and the information architecture around that to a full blown functional websites that is not only front end stuff, but back end stuff (reservations systems, sports sites, etc). There's a number of smaller firms too who have offices who will do this. Just do a google search on Chicago digital agencies or interactive agencies and you'll get a sense of who does what. Many of these are mainly only marketing, advertising, social media, and graphic design..so watch out for that.

The tech industry is probably among one of the top 15 in the US, although of course San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Raleigh/Durham and NYC, are better (amongst some others). It is coming up and while there has been a presence here for awhile, it's still on the upswing. Google bought Motorola Mobility of course and is moving 2000-3000 employees from the suburbs to downtown sometime this spring or summer. The startup stuff is gaining steam. One of the top venture capital firms from Silicon Valley opened a Chicago office not long ago, and there is a part of the building Google is moving into which is a bunch of startup's offices, which is funded by a Chicago billionaire (JB Pritzker of Hyatt fame).

How realistic is it to move to Chicago with little experience in this field? It really depends. Since your degree isn't in something like graphic design, computer science, software engineering, math, human/computer interaction, etc it might be a little harder. That's the first thing someone might look at for entry level. The way to get past it is to basically have a lot of excellent real examples. The thing is that a digital agency or a lot of stuff in Chicago is client facing. For example, I charge companies per hour for my services right, so the companies have to know that you kind of know your stuff somewhat at the "basic" level if they hire you right on...time is money afterall in this business. Don't want to make the client angry.

It is possible, but as is it might be hard. The fact you did an internship in it is great news, but in your free time I would really put together some examples of your work. There is not a single person who I've helped interview this year where I haven't gone to a website they've listed showing their work. Anybody can talk this stuff, but to really see real examples sets some people far apart from the rest.

[betweenthebars]

Thank you for the quick response. I know that my degree being unrelated to technology could be a problem, but by the end of the spring semester I will have taken a total of 30 or so credits in web classes, so I think that will make a difference. I also intend to put together an online portfolio of my work and join some networking sites like LinkedIn before I begin applying for jobs. From what I understand, the web industry is not too stringent on its educational requirements and a lot of the jobs I see posted where I live now and in Chicago ask for computer science degrees or equivalent education. I'm hoping that my bachelor's + 30 hours computer/web classes + freelance work + portfolio will mean I will I qualify for an entry level job. But...are there many entry level jobs available?

Still wondering if anyone knows how the market is for freelance web design? I'd love to make a career out of that, but it'd also be great just knowing if I could get some work while looking for a job with a company. I guess that's another question I have; can anyone weigh in on web jobs working for yourself vs working for a company? To me, the appeal of working for a company is the job security, while working for yourself allows for more freedom and creativity. But that's just my impression.