Just remember the OP just said he wanted to do this solo, that is the solo list. You could very well split all of it into multiple jobs.

Front end: html, css, javascript, graphics, usability
Back end: some server side language(s), database selections / usage, putting everything together into some type of manageable plan to get an idea of what to do
Sys ops/admin: Making sure the servers are setup properly and work
Technically adept salesman: Communication with the client (not all of it, but most. Having the devs sit in with the clients once the ball is moving is usually a good idea)

Some of those can be broken down even more if you had to but some of those could be combined too.

It's not unreasonable to have the entire list covered by 2 people.

I don't have a whole lot to add to this, but I can say with certainty this is not true. My (web development) company works almost exclusively with very large companies with inhouse IT & development departments, but they still outsource web development. It's a pretty specialized field, and if you don't have in-house experts, you want to go outside to get it done. Of course, getting contracts with a big company as a solo developer is going to be very tough if you don't have a contact.

I'm sorry, I should have been more clear on my intent. I sort of alluded to it with the thought of searching for a good dev-house: I get the impression that, while one would think that learning more is more beneficial on a solo venture, the reverse may be more true due the the targeted market. In other words: where have all the good web developers gone? I would have thought in-house, or at least in highly exclusive companies that won't always show up on the first page of Google anyways.

The really good web devs are usually either freelancing, consulting, being involved in start ups or are working for mega internet leaders like Google.

Working at large but not technical corporations as a web developer usually sucks. There's usually ridiculously bad politics, things take forever to get accomplished, management is hyper ventilating down the back of your neck and forcing results which might mean you can't even conform to best practices.

I could not imagine working at a place like that. I would consider maybe working at a place like that if I were brand new to the field and wanted some experience or maybe even work there as an intern as a last resort but I wouldn't stick around.

There's basically no way I'd ever work in a place that didn't produce software. Being a developer in a big company that doesn't "develop" puts you in a support role, and you're a cost centre not a revenue generator.

That "cost center" vs "revenue generator" line is soooo overused. If you produce lousy software that takes ages for others to understand and debug you're also a cost center. If you are an excellent HR person, sales guy (for the right kind of software distribution >> product quality eventhough engineers hate to hear it) or admin in a dev company you can very much be a sick revenue generator.

I dont want to derail the thread but maybe you guys can tell me this. What would be your software of choice for small web animations at the moment, is there any freeware thats good enough for non-professional use? I know Adobe Edge is free for the moment, but im thinking its going to be expensive in a while when it goes fully commercial.

I don't want to go back to a company where development is secondary, since I like being at the core purpose of a company. IT is still considered an area where you can make cuts, whereas nobody ever says "hey, let's have less salespeople, that'll improve the bottom line"

I'm sort of the reverse; I prefer servicing internal customers and doing my own program management. I hate bureaucracy, which you generally get with external customers. I work in a development shop (of sorts) but all my clients are internal, for now.

not in the least. i butcher stick figures. lol

Noticed this on HN, thought it was topical:

http://www.learnwithjeff.com/2012/08...an-six-months/

Great article. Read that the other day. Just goes to show you how low the barriers of entry are in programming right now. Companies are dying for enthusiastic programmers and the points he makes about transparency are absolutely spot on. I'm pretty young into my career and I can't help but feel being transparent and enthusiastic are what helped me land my first job so quickly.

You'll be surprised how much you learn in 6 months.

I'll chip in my own recent experience here:

I recently started freelancing as a front-end web developer. I do have some competence with PHP, but my hire-able skills mainly lie in layout. I basically spend all day with CSS.

Something I didn't think about was how frustrating clients can be. I am on the fourth week of working with an industrial b2b company. I report to the marketing manager, and am the only technical person there.

I am under constant pressure to produce, even though I am working with terrible code spit out by a purchased product that connects to their inventory DB. Think layout with <table><tr><td><table><script></script><tr></td><div><font> etc... level bad. And I have no access.

I am in the situation of explaining my plight, but it sounds just like excuses. I had to explain why I spent 2 hours this morning making my previous week's work appear in IE 7 and he looked at me like "why didn't you make it work the first time, I need to see new **** every minute you are here"

I ended up blowing up at him...and now it is awkward. Luckily they are happy with the work thus far.

/rant

Cliffs: Dealing with clients can be VERY frustrating.

I guess my experience with this gig as shown me to not accept a job where it is an extremely interactive collaborative effort with non-web people. If they just left me alone for three weeks and let me turn something in, we'd be much farther along.


Part of this is project management too...

/rant part too

edit: oh yeah, and there is a graphic designer I work with, so I can't do any of that without stepping on toes. And believe it or not, I'm not thrilled with the graphics produced.

Okay, back to practical advice. Sorry for the vent.


I VERY MUCH suggest picking a web project that you have some interest/passion in, and then set out to build that thing. When I needed to learn PHP/MySQL, I made a website that sold my record collection on the internet. You learn along the way (although understanding programming logic is necessary first). I finished (close enough) the project, felt a great sense of pride, and came away with PHP, DB, and AJAX skills I didn't have before. Plus I use it in my portfolio.