17 yrs old, is the Web Industry flooded?

I recently dropped a Networking Technologies class at my local Vocational Technical center because it was very poorly ran. I have the option of attending another campus' Web Design class. In the past year and half certain things have brought me to believe the Computer Industry is now flooded. What's your take on this? Is there a certain direction I should head?

In Australia it is... I'm not sure where in the world you are, but in Australia many employers aren't lookin to employ people around Xmas.

I live in the Upper Hunter Region (NSW) and the industry has been in a down turn for the last 10 months.

P.I.A ain't it...

hang in there, hopefully in the new year the industry will pickup again.

There's always been a "new" industry that leads the way in the economy. Many economists have pointed to this historical fact and the fact that the "new technology" led the current economic downturn when claiming that this same "new technology" will lead the recovery, and we're already starting to see that in some areas. Recent geopolitical events have affected this as well. As travel has decreased, the teleconference industry, equipment and service providers, have seen dramatic increases in revenue and stock prices since 9/11. While most traditional retailers saw a small decline in same store sales over last year's holiday season, online retailers have seen significant increases.

One of the main reasons of the dotcom disaster was management or, more specifically, the lack thereof. Taking the entire staff of 200 on a trip to Cancun before a business produces one penny of revenue is beyond stupid, yet we saw this and many similar examples of idiocy enacted by now failed dotcoms.

It was a hard taught lesson that the "new technology" was not in and of itself reason to stop using good business practice, and that it's valuation was not to be calculated with a different formula.

Still, it is not a "dead" industry. It's suffered some setbacks at the hands of morons that shouldn't be allowed to run a laundramat. But it will survive and thrive in the future with good management. Yes, gone are the days of get rich quick with stock options. Welcome to the "real world" of business.

web industry? may be it is, but don't forget that there is plenty more to IT then just web - although it is major part of IT.
Personally I think that with communication needs growing as they are right now, in 5-or-so years there will be extrem need for GOOD network guys, who are capable of building and supporting lan. But also in 5 years we'll have plenty of wannabies who just took several classes in CC and think they're up to the task, so need for an average will be low, and so will be salary for 'average' tech.

IMO, you do not really need college professor explaining things to you, nowaday technology is available to everyone through internet, and thanks to www.internet.com we have great number of sites who are dedicated to teach you something that somehow is related to computer tech.

I agree with rod that internet's 'gold rush' is gone. There were days when you could get several millions financing in silicon valley for some stupid project, whereas now they would just laugh at those ideas. Most of those project did blow up, but those guys did get the hard cash. Now its all gone, and if you want to make living with IT you have to work as hard as you would in any other field, if not harder. But then again, if it is your hobby - you will not consider IT as just a job, more as style of life. If it is something you hate to do, and you'd rather watch tv then go on-line - you probably should not even consider IT as a career.

Just my 2c worth, and yeah, guys, what do you think about age when one should enter his career field - the earlier the better or should there be some 'restriction'?

This is a hard question to answer. For one thing, unless there are industry experts around, the people here can offer only as much as a perpectiveto the situation in their own country. In Finland, the industry is growing and there are plenty of room for new and young people, like myself

Still, there's a lot of competition and I think it's safe to say it ain't easy. I've been working with minimum pay as a trainee, now over seven months. After that I spend five years home studing and doing it mostly for fun. I don't do web design, so I don't know much about that but I can see there are even more fierce competition in that area. I've notice that companies here seem to be pretty frustrated about the fact that some aspects of web industry are flooded and some ain't. Web programming sia field where you can't find good experts that easily, as where software specialists and web & graphic designing are different. It's a long story, and I ain't gonna start telling it here. My advice is, take a look around in your own beighborhood. Look up all of the web design & multimedia companies, visit their web sites, call them and ask what their situation is and do they need additional help.

Also, if you want to help yourself, pick a speciality area that you like. Mine is web programming. Focus your efforts on one area and make the best you can of it. This helps both you and your employer.

It all depends where you are situated as to what direction you should take. In the UK I would have to say that biting the bullet and going for an HND or degree are the only options. You don't say how the course was poorly ran, was it simply that it was below your level or that it was indeed a shambles (lecturers not turning up, no PCs available etc..). Believe me, I've had experience of working with or at four universities in the UK and none of them could exhibit that they were a slick working establishment. Indeed University College London Graduate School(who I set up a database for) had up to four years of missing student/staff records. Unfortunately every university or college in the UK has lecturers who will be demeaning and belittle you, it's one of those things you have to put up with. Most universities cannot accept criticism from students because they still retain their 'untouchable' governmental attitude.

Like I said earlier though, you have to suffer this in the UK so that you can get the foot on the ladder to successful and enjoyable IT employment. The market isn't saturated though, it's just that companies have learnt. Most now know that a 6 year old can design good web pages with software pirated from the internet, so they have to have their guards up against the poor programmers. Many also want to know they have serious people, not those who will leave at an unexpected time without notice. The need for a degree is similar to getting a deposit from a client when developing their www site. It separates the serious from the non-serious.

So after all this, where do you go from where you are. If you have the finances stick with the education route. It's worth considering though whether the qualifacation will give you level playing fields with others. Any qualification will stand better stead than none, I've seen people get a degree in Marine Biology get a computing job simply because they showed they had great learning ability. If you haven't got the finances or the qualification is worth less than the paper it's written on then you have to think seriously. It may be worthwhile getting any job, postman to bartender so as to give you a break to think what you want to do. The less demanding and thought-needing the job the better. If you're young then give it a year while thinking what exactly you want to do and how to get there. Look at job adverts for that job, see what's needed. Take time to teach yourself, go and do a degree but study the topics yourself for a year first, give yourself an unequal fairness in subjects. The average lifespan is about 80 years these days, four years of making little money is worth 50 odd years of making lots and enjoying it.

For the record, I started by doing a degree in town planning, I thought better of it very late in the degree and quit. I spent two years doing very little amounts of work and sorting myself out. During that time I taught myself Access/SQL/JavaScript/HTML/Visual Basic and started Java, I then decided to do a degree in IT. Simply by taking the time to mature and to become aquainted with computing languages gave me a serious advantage over people who went straight from College to Uni.

deepspring, rod k, AlCapone, Datamike and binky, I can't thank you enough for your replies. They're exacty what I've been needing: extra knowledge, bit of direction, and a major confidence booster. I don't feel like I'm shooting in the dark with a blind fold on any more, and man is that a relief. Thanks again, and happy new year!

Well I dunno about flooded, but I am unemployed.... does that count!

Skill is always a valued asset, so go out there and become a master.

Wow these are all very good replies and I'd have to agree with most of them.

freebsd makes a good point, it has to be a part of your lifestyle, because there is ALWAYS something new to learn, so you can't just develop a skill and then let that carry you through for the next 10 years (though certain foundational skills will carry you a long way to learn the in-demand skills). For example, the comment about 8 year olds designing web sites is on key. My cousin is LITERALLY 8 years old and she HAS sold some of her websites to companies! True story!

Maybe 5 years ago, (or even longer ago than that), HTML might have been a valuable skill. But now everyone can do it, or there are editors that bypass the code altogether.

However, there are many widely adopted Internet scripting languages, such as the ones on this site, that always seem to be in demand. Perl seems like it has been around for a while now, but I always see a big demand for it in the classifieds.

If you enjoy the work and the learning, that will make it so much easier to get ahead. When I found this site, I was excited because it has alot of good information and the community here seems very helpful and are unafraid to share their knowledge.

I have to say that my tv is never on, but my computer runs pretty much the entire day. Though I enjoy watching the obnoxious contestants on the LA dating shows have a go at each other.

My story is similar to binky's. I started out with a degree in architecture, then moved on to history, then I realized I was spending so much time behind the computer, and that you could make good money doing what was fun, I was in to win. Got an IT degree and never looked back! Best choice I ever made. But I have found the skills I have learned on my own are just as valuable as school skills. Too bad I couldn't have put that COBOL class to work...NOT!!!

Also I agree that the technology isn't dead, it's just mismanagement as was said. There were so many companies that would just build multiple sites, hoping to cash in on IPOs for each one of them, for the Gold Rush, and that was it.

I predict another growth cycle is just around the bend. We just have had to cut the fat out of all these bloated and inefficient, wreckless companies. I predict the next growth cycle will not be as dynamic, but it will last long and be more stable.

Hey, Ted....

"over Mucho Grande?"

I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande.

I sure picked a bad week to quit sniffing glue.