I am currently in the market for an entry-level C#.NET position. Yet I seem to be finding a ton of ASP.NET positions. I have experience creating HTML/CSS websites, and a very small amount of experience creating websites with PHP.
Is learning ASP.NET something I should really get into while trying to get a job somewhere? I'm quite confident I can learn it well in time, but there are only so many hours in a day...
The common answer here is, "It depends." Around where I live there is likely some demand for consultants but not necessarily those people wanting to be employees. I think there may be questions about how comfortable are you with understanding the versions of ASP.Net, .Net framework, and other things that may tie in like what databases have you used that may also play a role. So you have to ask yourself if you want to be a contractor or full-time employee? Lastly, how much experience with HTML/CSS do you have: A few months, a year, a handful of years, was part of the group that created the first version of CSS and have kept up that level of intimate knowledge in all subsequent releases.
If you are already growing your C# skill sets, learning ASP.NET would not be a waste of time. The more languages you know, the better. As JB King pointed out, some of the preferences almost seem regional.
Learning ASP.NET MVC would also help you in the long run...
Oh yeah, learn jQuery too :) (someone had to say it)
compare:
http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-Ruby/l-NY
with
http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-ASP/l-NY
change the state to your liking :)
Of all the .NET technologies, ASP.NET probably claims the most victims. That is to say there are A LOT of ASP.NET developers. And it's still in high demand.
On average, however, the programmers that develop native Windows applications are paid a little more. These titles are vague, but from the reports I've seen the salary for a "software developer" is typically 10 to 15% higher than a "web developer."
That may change with time, but I will say that my first job was primarily web design & programming and I liked it. However, I eventually grew to like Windows software development more. Since then I've done Windows Forms development, as well as WPF and now Silverlight.
I'd say you should pursue whichever you're most interested in for now. And fortunately, any .NET experience carries over nicely to other .NET technologies.