# I'm considering going back to school for web development or something like it. Advice?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-considering-going-back-to-school-for-web-development-or-something-like-it-advice/704951>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 18, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-considering-going-back-to-school-for-web-development-or-something-like-it-advice/704951 "2014-11-18T12:59:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-considering-going-back-to-school-for-web-development-or-something-like-it-advice/704951/1 "2014-11-18T12:59:09Z")

</div>

I’ve been thinking of getting a career in something useful, where there are actual jobs. I have a bachelors in Philosophy from 2003 that I’ve never used, and I haven’t had a “real” job in years. My husband is military and we’ve moved a lot; in terms of contributing financially I’ve done a lot of real estate investment (flipping houses), which I enjoy, but it isn’t steady money. My husband is set to retire in 4 years, and I’ve been thinking about getting a real job, since his retirement income will be a lot less than we’re used to.

I’ve done a tiny bit of web design (just my own art website, which I took down earlier this year because I didn’t want to pay for it anymore) and enjoyed it, despite having no idea what I was doing. I think I could be good at it, and I’m a fast learner. I can use my husband’s GI bill money to pay the tuition, so it won’t cost anything.

But I really have no idea about this career field. What sort of degree do I need? Where do I start, basically?\* Are\* there jobs in this field, and if so, is there a particular specialty that would be better (more profitable) than another? Should I be looking at something completely different?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-considering-going-back-to-school-for-web-development-or-something-like-it-advice/704951/2 "2014-11-18T14:33:46Z")

</div>

I’ve been googling around on this, and it sounds like computer related degrees are fairly useless, and it’s better to just teach yourself to code, develop a good portfolio, and keep up with new tech. In [this thread,](http://css-tricks.com/forums/topic/what-kind-of-degree-did-you-get-in-web-dev/)pretty much every poster says they’re self taught. So, that’s interesting.