I'm interested in getting to grips with the industry and educating myself on CSS, Photoshop and more to begin some freelance work and gaining experience.
Is there much money in being a Website Designer and programmer?
Is there a good job market?
Various websites I've looked into say starting salary is £15,000 to £20,000 for starters up to £30,000 to £50,000 for experts. Is this accurate?
I suggest getting into Web Developement, learn PHP/ASP, it's less boring, better paid, and there are more web designers than developers, so you'll have less competition. It's also more difficult to learn compared to design however, especially with no prior programming experience.
Webdev paid good and easy to start, if you're OK with hating your (job|life).
[11:20:20] aerelm: its not fl dev work if you dont have to power through the whole thing on your own
[11:20:32] aerelm: help is for pussy devs like in dota
I know a few web devs that all make good money. Some specialize in design of websites, the user interface and how it looks. Some specialize in the database coding that makes it run, some specialize in making sure the servers that power those websites are up and running, and some do a mix of all of those.
Start with TML/CSS, and add PHP when you're comfortable with those. It would also be a good idea to set up a LAMP server, either as another computer in your house or a virtual machine. That way you can 'host' your websites for yourself (don't open them up to the outside world) and play around with a server and get some experience there.
Here's the fun thing about most IT jobs, and web design is no exception. You can do it in whatever way suits you best. Want to work a 9 to 5 at a big corporation? They need web devs. Want to work at a small/medium enterprise? They need web devs. Want to work for a consulting firm with lots of different clients? They need web devs. Want to go full freelance and set your own clients? That is also possible.