I'm new to Web Development. Please help

[Webnewbie]

Hi Everyone... I just thought I'd use this forum for some advice. I'm looking to start out in a new career. A career in Web development and/or design. There is so much material out there that I don't know where to begin. My previous jobs have been in the Engineering field as a data analyst and project coordinator. I want to try something new and thought about Web Development and Design. Does anyone have any suggestions on reading material, web sites, and/or advice to get me started? I am trying to avoid going back to school and just self teaching myself on the side till I get a handle on everything. I find full time work and full time school a bit challenging so I would much rather read up on the material on my spare time. Some applications I hear being used are Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, HTML, Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign, and Frontpage. I know I can pick up books for these applications, but are there basic concepts that I need to understand first? Will I have to pick up on programming languages as well like Java, Javascript, HTML, XML, and Perl? All the info on this industry and/or advice on getting started would be most appreciated. Does anyone have any suggestions and/or recommendations?

Thanks.

 

[turtile]

I learned HTML from worksheets. Taught the basics in frontpage and photoshop - taught myself Dreamweaver, more advanced photoshop, and Flash(only basics).

 

[Benz]

I designed my website layout (www.pluggs.com ) in Photoshop. After creating a desired template, I sliced it and put it in dreamweaver. You should have a good knowledge of HTML but with all the online tutorials, you don't have to know every little detail.

 

[GameGURU]

Don't worry about having to learn HTML, it's pretty easy to get a hold of and make a website. But if you want to be successful, like everyone else said, you need to learn some photoshop to make "flashy designs"