Justin Ashley is pursuing his Associate of Arts in Web Design from Sessions College.
Justin enjoys studying online because he works full time and benefits from his program’s flexibility. In the next 5 years, Justin hopes to work at a web development company.
I decided to pursue my associates degree in web design online because it works with my schedule. I work full-time, so I don’t have the opportunity to go to a traditional campus. I also think that my school is very affordable, which is important to me.
I decided to get my degree from Sessions College because my friend was enrolled there and I appreciated the school’s credentials. He showed me what it was like to study online and I was immediately interested. I already knew I wanted to pursue my web design degree, and I was impressed by the quality of his program.
Another reason I chose to get my degree from Sessions College is that it has accreditation from the state of Arizona. Only quality schools are accredited, so I knew that Sessions College would be reliable and worth my time.
Sessions College has provided me with an advisor that was assigned to assist me throughout my program. She has been with me every step of the way. I know that I can ask her for help at any time and she is always willing to give me advice. My advisor is very understanding and I feel that I can be candid with her, which gives me a feeling of security.
Web design is a variation of graphic design that is concerned with creating designs specifically for websites. Often, web design requires you to use software such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator in order to build attractive and functional designs. As a discipline, web design also involves understanding and applying programming languages to websites.
As a student in web design you can expect to learn the skills necessary to build websites. That means you will learn how to use graphic design software and you will become proficient in writing code using different programming languages. For instance, I am studying 6 different programing languages right now.
After graduation, you can begin a career in web design. You can choose to work as a freelance designer or find more permanent work. In either case, the average salary for web design is especially high. If you decide to work with a company on a permanent basis, you can earn $25 to $35 an hour, while freelancers can make anywhere between $30 and $60 an hour. I feel that an education in web design will give me the opportunity to pursue a promising job in any part of the country.
My program at Sessions College is 2 years long and I think I should finish within the standard amount of time. The first year of my program involved a number of general graphic design courses. My second year is focused much more on programming languages and coding. As my program continues, I am taking classes that are increasingly specialized.
The requirements of the program prepare me to enter the field of web design, though sometimes the online environment makes learning difficult. Every class adds to my web design skill set, including the general requirements. As for weaknesses, I would say it can be difficult to get help with coursework at times. Since it is all online, it can be hard to receive help in the same way you would at a brick-and-mortar institution.
Class materials are presented as a lecture in digital text format. There are usually videos included to highlight key points. But for the most part, the instruction consists of previously created documents. This format makes for little to no live interaction during class.
The digital text presentation style has a clear pro and con. The pro to this format is that I am able to study the class lecture anytime I want throughout the week. This makes my education very flexible. On the other hand, the con is that I can’t ask my professor a question and get an immediate response. I have to email them and wait for the reply.
It is difficult to say which classes are most useful because the majority have been extremely helpful. However, I especially appreciate the skills I learned through Adobe Photoshop. I use this program in most of my designs and the professor’s instruction was excellent. I have grown immensely as a designer through this class and I see Photoshop as an essential program in my work.
The least useful class I took was HTML coding. I studied a number of coding books before I went to school, so this class was relatively easy for me to get through. But it was a bit frustrating to me as it was teaching HTML 5, which at the time was brand new and it would not be directly applicable or usable for 6 months. That meant current technology couldn’t handle it, which disappointed me.
My professors are very knowledgeable and their feedback is outstanding. I like that I am able to submit my projects and designs to my professors before they are due. I always get highly valuable input that helps me improve my work. My professors allow me to better understand what we have been learning through practical applications of theory.
I interact with my professors via e-mail any time that I need help. They are usually very willing to respond. Another option available to us is a live chat forum. It is possible to set up a time to meet and chat live, but I have never used it. Overall, however, there are sometimes delays between asking questions and getting answers.
Because of that potential delay, my advice to other students is that if you have a question, it may be better to consult Google first. Sometimes I can’t wait an entire day for a professor to email me back, so I search through Google to find forums where people have had similar issues. More often than not, I find my answers there.
While my professors are knowledgeable, the reality of online schooling is that I don’t get to know them on a personal basis. There is little to no interaction unless something comes up that prevents me from turning in an exercise. While there are a few professors I may ask for letters of recommendation, I may be at a disadvantage because all they know of me is my work. I think I would receive better recommendations if I went to a brick-and-mortar school where I could interact with the professors socially.
I don’t interact much with my peers, either. Since this program is meant to teach and prepare students for a career in web design, there is very little social interaction or group projects.
I would not have done anything differently in pursuing my associates degree online. I would, however, caution potential students about the lack of one-on-one guidance in online programs. Although faculty are highly interactive and willing to respond, you may have difficulty getting as much out of an online conversation as you would in person.
Another word of caution is that you have to be self-motivated to succeed in an online learning environment. At times the coursework is extremely difficult. If you are not highly disciplined and independent, you may have trouble completing your work.
