So I notice more and more job postings lately that are looking for a designer/programmer. I believe that there may be a few individuals out there that are both talented artists and programming wizards but how many, honestly?

Employers figure that they can get the most bang for their buck and request that their employee be experienced in not only print and web design programs, have amazing artistic talent AND know all best coding practices, including PHP and MySQL. I think it's unrealistic. I think it is more sensible to seek out a talented artist who knows their design programs inside and out and who can understand how to effectively design a website. Then why not hire an experienced programmer to work with a few days a week for the issues that come up that are beyond the grasp of your designer. It seems to me the only realistic approach.

I know in larger studios that I have worked at that this is how things are run but I think the small studios need to see this distinction. I used to apply to jobs that I felt were a bit beyond my reach in terms of skills but now I would prefer to work somewhere where they have an understanding of reality and how the mind and talents of a programmer and designer differ.