Inspiring Web designer?

I know XHTML and CSS real well.Right now im in the process of teaching myself dreamweaver and photoshop, then fireworks,flash.Am i going down the right path? What do you recommend next to continue on the path of becoming a freelance web designer/developer? I also have available programs like asp.net and visual studios,SQL server and C#.Do you think it is essential to learn this to become an effective web developer?

Inspiring Web designer?
Javascript, SQL will be important and then PHP or ASP.NET and C# and then JAVA.





you seem to have a good start I also find XML and XSL to be pretty important, and while uncommon, they're just pretty neat. by uncommon I mean just less used in web development even though they're used alot in desktop apps right now, web programmers still prefer databases.
Reply:Going this route will assure you that it will either take several years for you to land a lucrative job or it will assure you that you will forever make the web designer minimum salary.





If you really want to land a job at a corporate company or design studio, you should get some sort of formal education in the field. Most corporations require you to have at least an associates degree before they will hire you. I am sure that I will get several thumbs down for saying this, but I have been in the field many years and make a very good salary. Just call companies that you might want to work at and aks any HR director what the minimum requirements are for jobs. I think its great that you are taking the initiaitve to learn some of the required tools, but employers also want well-rounded individuals that can think and mix well with other educated professionals in their company. Think about that. Good luck!
Reply:everything you are learning is necessary for web design. You are going to need to know all web language.
Reply:If you're going down the "artistic" designer path, then you might want to add Flash to your resume.





If you're going down the "scientific" developer path (programming) then it will depend on your ultimate goal...





For something that looks good on a resume and will land you a job with a large company with in-house webservers... Microsoft .NET framework, ASP, C# (C-Sharp), Microsoft SQL Server).





An alternate "big business" path for those that prefer open-source and are Anti-Microsoft, there's Java and it's accompanying high-end business application development... JSP (Java Server Pages), the Tomcat and JBoss web application servers, JUnit (unit testing), and a development suite like NetBeans or Eclipse. (and since it's all open-source, all this stuff is free).





For development for smaller companies, typically using shared web hosting, and for doing consulting and contract work for such companies, the most popular path is PHP, MySQL, and Apache (especially configuration options available via .htaccess files and the mod_rewrite Apache module).





Another programming "niche" is the programming side of Flash... become a proficient ActionScript developer with a hint of artistic talent and you'll be a rare catch for potential clients.





If you're headed down the programming path, make sure you get started the RIGHT way, by learning methodologies along with your programming language of choice. A good one is Extreme Programming...
Reply:It depends on if you want to be a designer or a developer. If you simply just want to design web pages and build them then you are off to a great start with knowing CSS and XHTML. You will want Dreamweaver and Photoshop. You can pick either Photoshop or Fireworks to design in, that is up to you. Flash is a great skill to have as well along with Action Script 3. You will probably also need to know some javascript.





If you want to be a developer and get into heavy applications then you might want to learn Coldfusion, php, AIR, Flex, etc....

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