Web Development Careers Resource Guide

With the Internet playing a huge and growing role in business, entertainment, government, education, and many other aspects of our lives, it's easy to see why qualified web development professionals are in high demand. Employers are willing to pay what it takes to hire web developers with the skills and experience they need.

According to 2010 data from Salary.com, median annual incomes for web page development jobs in the United States range from around $70,000 to well over $100,000. Developers with lots of experience or advanced training in high-demand programming languages can command much more. And so can developers with strong leadership or communication skills.

View web developer jobs and salaries

In the early days of the Internet, anyone who could write HTML was in demand as a web developer. Now employers are looking for web development professionals with associate's or bachelor's degrees, as well as a few years of work experience.

One great way to launch your career as a web developer is with a bachelor's degree in web development. There are also many benefits to pursuing a more general degree, such as computer science or computer software engineering. These types of degrees give you an excellent foundation, so you can focus your career in the broad field of computers, or web design and development. Then you can easily learn the additional skills and programming languages you need to support your future career goals.

Certificate programs are another option for web development training, especially if you already have some of the skills you need. You can often earn a web development certificate in just a few months. There are many different types of web development certification, including specialized certificates that demonstrate your mastery of various database management systems, programming languages and web servers.

Learn more about web development training

It's easy to describe the work of a web developer in simplistic terms. As senior web developer Roger Braunstein says, "You must write good code." But writing good code isn't actually that simple. It requires "attention to detail, autonomy, pride in your work, a thirst for learning, and of course, good problem solving," says Braunstein. "You have to be able to adapt to change and work well with other programmers."

Adapting and changing is the name of the game. When you work in web development, there's always a new opportunity to flex your creative muscles. On any given day, you might find yourself collaborating with a web designer, launching a new feature, or solving a complex software problem. Your success is limited only by your willingness to learn and grow.

Read the full interview with a senior web developer