Anyone a graphic or web designer?

[HipGal]

I'm considering a career change toward graphic design and/or web design. Wondering if anyone has experience in the field? What is the job market like right now? I'm considering starting my own business so I can work from home with some flexibility. Do you think there is enough business out there right now? I don't need to make a full-time salary right away, but would need to pull in $10-15,000 the first year if possible. I have one year before that for taking classes through extension and building a portfolio, etc. Thoughts?

[cyclamen]

From the many designers in my life:

My boyfriend is a graphic designer. He went to design school, dropped out in his third year, bummed around for a few years. Fall 2008 we found out we were having a baby, so he put together a portfolio using all of his current work including show flyers, screenshots of websites he's built, and some gui stuff he made for software synthesizers... basically stuff he had done on his own for fun, plus a few items like "business card" and "invitation layout for fundraiser" - the sort of things you would make in a design class.

Then he started job hunting (while working 45+ hours a week, bless him). He posted his portfolio on Flickr in lieu of building his own portfolio website and still got a 3/4 time job as the in-house designer for a local marketing company by June 2009. So it was about nine months from starting to build the portfolio to getting the job. He started the week after our daughter was born. But I don't think he began job hunting in earnest until February or March.

Our local economy (rust belt, western new york) is always a bit depressed so I think the recession did not hit us as hard.

My father in law has been a full time freelance graphic (not web) designer for 15+ years and he says work ebbs and flows. When there's nothing, there's a depressing amount of nothing, and when there's work, there seems to be an overwhelming amount. But he seems to have done very well and has steady work now because of repeat clientele.

My brother came back from Japan last June (2009) and moved to NYC in August. He started out doing freelance web development (network network, he had friends working on projects who recommended him) but took on a full time job by December. He works like he's on a mission from hell though, 80 hours a week sometimes, between his regular and his contract work. The work is there.

Anyhow, the impression I get is that web development and design is a thriving industry right now. My brother went to art school for film and Japanese, not computers. He taught himself all the programming he knows and his portfolio was what got him the jobs. However, his company is now paying for him to take extension courses through NYU.

My tentative plan, once I finish my thesis, is actually to do some self-study on Javascript and web development and see if I can snag a few work from home freelance gigs to supplement our income. It's very tentative though, since our daughter is young and it's not urgent I return to the work force. It's more me looking ahead to think about how I will contribute to our income in the future.

ETA
The best recommendation for taking extension classes, besides getting experience, and building a portfolio, would probably be to network with your fellow classmates. That seems to be the best way to find a job, though my boyfriend actually got his position through a craigslist ad. (Though there were definitely a lot of "pay you tomorrow for a hamburger that I am going to eat today" positions that he had to filter through.) Nearly all of my brother's work has come through recommendations from former classmates and people he has worked with.