Is $40,000/yr reasonable for a fulltime web designer?

I am looking to retire soon and start a career as a web designer. Right now I am pretty good with html and css but know I have a lot to learn. I was wondering if it is reasonable to expect to earn $40,000/yr or more once I learn the necessary skills? Also is freelancing the best route or should I be looking at other avenues? I would like to work from home if possible. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

again i think same principle applies here as i said in my other post…
locality of the candidate…
it is too high for some reason where as it may be low for others…

If you only know html/css/javascript and make $40,000. You have found yourself a very good deal.

Thanks for the responses. I realize that I have much to learn - I was just wondering what to expect once I have more knowledge and experience.

I am assuming you are planning to be a freelancer rather than working for someone. The hardest part I think is going to be getting regular clients. It is not uncommon to get a good customer that doesn’t say because they don’t need any more design for a while. Working for an agency would be different in that they already have a flow of work. To get consistency as a freelancer will be the greatest challenge I would venture to guess.

I was thinking of freelancing but am open to other options. If I work for an agency (what is an agency, by the way?), can I still work from home or do I need to be on location?

even here it depends upon employer and even your expertise…

but in most of the case
if your are very good and can meet deadlines and quality ,then employer wont have any problem you working from your home
(what outsourcing is all about…throughly)
what he wants most of time is good work with in time…website doesnt have made is usa brands…:slight_smile:

if you are someone who like to use facebook when supervisor is not present then,your quality and deadline will be problems…and employer will say “no more work”

It depends entirely on the agency or employer (and as frank rightfully pointed out - the job role itself on occasion), some are relaxed about working from home, others demand you work in the office. As for the amount you’d make, that sounds like a very good amount for a literal entry level position (most positions with general HTML / CSS skills are usually more towards the 20 - 30K mark). It’s worth being aware that web design is a very competitive field and there’s no shortage of workers, therefore it’s essential you crank up your skillset as high as potentially possible before you start focusing all your attention on getting work. :slight_smile:

Have you tried www.salary.com to see what jobs are paying in your area?

I didn’t see any info for an html/css coder, but entry level web design according to their data is showing between 40k - 50k in my area - but I have to say I think that’s a generous exaggeration based on what I’ve seen local companies offering in this economy.

Designing sites is a challenge because work like that is easily outsourced (or crowdsourced) and there’s no shortage of competition you’ll have to contend with - but if you can think up some ways to stand out from the crowd and show local businesses how a website can help them grow their business - then you’ve got a chance. :smiley:

Cheers,

Steve

P.S. Welcome to Sitepoint!

by the way can i know which area is that ?
i have seen/know and found very good css coders working for 4k per annum …so surprised to see the difference… :smiley:

He’s in the USA, obviously the coders of which you are speaking are in India, the Philippines, etc…

Even for USA, for a fresh web designer I think 40,000 USD is quite a high salary package…

4 years experience & I’m not on that :S (taking into account local trends).

but thank god that works still gets done
sometime even better than “made in usa” application :smiley:
i dont see many reasons to pay that much actually (…when i say many …i believe that there can be some reason to pay that much to us developers…:slight_smile: )

Thanks for all the responses. It definitely looks like I have my work cut out for me. I really like web design and hope to make a go of it.