What are career prospects for a web designer?

Career Advice: Learning Web Development or AutoCAD (Computer Aided Design) to be both a Designer of physical interiors, products and things and create Web Applications? Can't make up my mind on which to choose. Could I just do both?

• I am a UK based 21 year-old. I suffer from Asperger's Syndrome and can't seem to make up my mind on a career path to follow and actually stick with as I have 2 things I'm interested in: 1.) I like Art & Design, drawing down ideas and styles for things like furniture, building interiors, technology products, guns, etc and would like to follow down that route of being something like a Product/Industrial Designer of physical products, Interior Designer or building Architect, using AutoCAD (Computer Aided Design) software to design all my physical things. But also, at the same time, I like: 2.) Creating web pages and am getting a little better over time as I learn Web Development languages. This is slow going for me, but I like doing it now and again and would like to get better at it - A lot better at it.  I ask, and this is probably my obsessive and changing mindset... Because I can't make up my mind on either doing AutoCAD creating products and physical things and interior designs using Computer Aided Design software, or creating web pages and web applications, could I just do them both? Would that be Advisable/Viable? NOTE: I'd like to become an entrepreneur with all this.

• Answer:

  I don't see why you couldn't do both, coding and CAD are both sort of natural fits for people who are logically minded.  That being said, you're starting late on both fields at 21 and so you will need to get good fast to outshine your peers.  Don't waste time waffling, dive in and figure out if you can do it or not.  Spend two solid weeks trying to learn CAD (see below) and then two solid weeks trying to learn to code. Entrepreneurship is Hell in both those fields.  You will spend the vast majority of your time running the business and not practicing your trade, so I'd advise against it unless you have an actual passion for business and the knowledge/resources to make it happen.  Getting clients and building a client base to the point you're not spending 95% of your time looking for new work is very difficult.  It's much more pleasant to build skills, a reputation, and a network (from which you might be able to get clients or leads!) while working for another company. Put those together and it means to be an entrepreneur you have to be head and shoulders above people your age / pay grade working at companies doing the same thing.  That means taking a seriously obsessive view of your trade and skills.  No room for waffling if you're going down that path, just full commitment.  And on top of that you have to have all the business acumen and whatnot to find clients and convince them to work with you. I don't mean to sound harsh, this stuff is based on my own suffering in business :) For domain specific advice: AutoCAD is crap CAD software, pick up Rhino or MOI3D on the cheaper end of things and Solidworks or Inventor if you go the industrial design route.  If you're designing products rather than mechanisms (ie: not designing moving parts) then Rhino is the king of the hill IMO.  You can get a student version of Rhino cheaply which you can legally use commercially, and there is a save-disabled demo version you can use to learn or see if CAD is for you.