Getting started in the web business

This is a recent email correspondence I think some newbies might find useful:

Hi, I just recently decided I wanted to try and get into web development and I discovered and listened to your podcast. It was wonderful and I was disappointed to discover that it appears to be discontinued. Do you plan on picking up where you left off? Also, would you recommend any good podcasts that start from the ground up? I really like the linux reality one you recommended so far.

I read online about colleges/universities that offer certification programs in different areas of web development; do employers hire these people? Or is it a waste of time and better to get a 4 year degree? Mostly I just want to learn for my own growth, but maybe someday in the future I would like to make a career of this.

Thanks for the interest! Check out my post about podcasts: http://ocdevel.com/blog/web-development-podcasts, especially the Harvard bit on PHP/MySQL.  I do hope to get going again with my podcast in the next few months, though don't hold your breath because it was quite a time-sink with low dividends -- I'd have to do it just for the fun of it.

As far as certs go:  I don't think that certifications are really all that useful in web development.  What I'd do if I were you is learn something like PHP or Drupal from the ground up (http://w3schools.com for PHP), and then:

1. Build one or two custom sites for friends as portfolio pieces
2. Build your own site that is your portfolio (like ocdevel.com/portfolio)
3. Work on three or four larger-scale projects for your portfolio, making ~$15/hr at rentacoder, odesk, and/or elance
4. After that, you should have made some good connections to land a decent job in the field.

Go to a 4-year if you're serious about the business, a bachelor's makes about a $20k/yr difference, and a masters a $40k.  If you are indeed serious about it, do steps 1-4 while going to school, and focus on Java or Ruby on Rails instead of PHP (better money & career growth, but harder to tap into).  Hope this helps!