Just doing a cursory search on Dice, I found over 9200 jobs listed for Web Developer versus about 2800 jobs for Database Administrator.
Some history: I learned HTML when Netscape was at version 0.9 and I have been doing computer support work for most of my (not so illustrious) career. The pinnacle of my success was becoming an IT Manager for a start up company at the start of the tech bubble. I was the geek who built the network from the ground up - literally, the building didn't have walls when I was ordering the UPS and server racks and finding the right wiring contractor, and ordering new servers, etc. All that for about $70K a year plus stock options.
Such wonderful memories!
I was unceremoniously kicked to the curb when the bubble burst and have been in the mortgage industry for the last 4 years. Yow.
Now, I need to get back into tech and jobs for support people are in short supply. So, I am looking for the fastest way to get on board with web development.
Threads in this lounge suggest that knowing HTML is enough, but some job descriptions read like a shopping list of acronyms like this:
HTML, CSS, PHP, CGI, Perl, JAVA, JavaScript, MySQL, etc. I would add that some of them also sound like an ad for Adobe/Macromedia products - which I won't list here.
So, it seems that I have a lot of homework to do to get up to speed as quickly as possible. Perhaps a shortcut would be to specialize in some development tool that is widely used like ColdFusion.
Finally, the question:
If you had to acquire a skill that would get your "foot in the door" (even an entry level position - I am not proud), where would you begin? Adobe offers 2 and 3 day "boot camps" for learning their products. I am wide open to suggestions as to the quickest way to become proficient enough to provide a valuable skill set to some employer.
Thank you in advance for your help.
BR