Software Development Track vs Web Design Development Track

Question

I'm currently a student. I just finished intermediate c#. Wow. It was interesting, but I've found myself becoming more interested in the javascript and html world as I've started to see the potential for variety with web applications and scripting.

My question simply is for your best answer on the benefits or negatives of either track as you've personally experienced it. I’m wondering if going the web development route means less salary, challenges, and long term career rewards as staying in .NET software application development, or have you experienced much more interesting types of projects working with AJAX, JavaScript, html, xml, etc.

I’m trying to understand which route to emphasize as my school currently gives more classes in the web track, but I want to make sure whatever track I choose has great financial incentive with experience, rewarding, and plenty of hiring positions that allows me to choose where I want to live. (vs c++ game programmer has limited game studios, web development is everywhere, etc)

Answer 1

Go with the "Software Development" track. You can always learn Web tech on the side. Sadly, with the boom in popularity of websites in the last decade or so, many schools introduced web development programs that were essentially "programming-lite", with maybe a few intro-level design classes thrown in...

Unless you're looking at something significantly better, stay well clear of this sort of program. You can always take networking and design classes on the side if that interests you, and HTML / JS / XML is pretty easy to just pick up on your own.

Answer 2

Do both :-)

There are plenty of very savvy .net/C# developers out there who work on large ASP.NET platforms and as a result, they're good HTML/CSS/Javascript developers too

Answer 3

Software Development is much more higher than web design development. I will recommend software development.

Answer 4

As you have described I actually view the Web Design tasks ( css, scripting, markup ) as a subset of what any programmer can do. You are closing way too many doors choosing the one over the other. Really, if you were interested in being a web designer, go into Graphic Design ( art, color theory, layout, etc... ) and add scripting to your resume. I think a graphic designer OR a software developer are infinitely more employable than a web developer. The other is too niche and/or entry level.

Answer 5

First of all, Web Development is software development :) On the web there are no installation required for people to use your application, this is why the web is the only real platform worth developing on.

I've worked in .net development previously, and most of the work I did was writing in-house software for corporations that not many people have used. I'd say go with what you enjoy most and the career will look after itself.

Answer 6

Potential employers will always perceive Software Development as the more ambitious program. People getting degrees in Web Development are often tagged as people who couldn't make it in a "real" Software Development program. Not fair, but that's the way it is. For the most options

• Get your degree in Software Development.

• Find out who the best two or three professors on the Web Development side are, and take their courses.

P.S. A course called Programming Languages can often be found on the Software track but should help you get a leg up on the plethora of languages found in the Web world.

Answer 7

I'd compare which track has the more interesting courses and would be something you would have an interest in doing after you graduate. If the web seems awesome to you then go do that. Yes this may shut down some doors but I'd think everyone has their own personal preferences on what to study and how to apply what was learned into the real world, which can be soooo disconnected from academia at times.

I'm a web developer and haven't felt that this has diminished my earning potential at all, though I did graduate in '97 when the web was young. Another question is whether that web development track would cover things like graphics that I didn't have to deal with when I studied Computer Science. While my current title is Web Developer, I have had a couple of other ones in the past like Software Design Engineer and Senior Application Developer so my title is very similar to those more general software development jobs.