Next stage of Internet spawns variety of new jobs..
“While small-scale Web 2.0 shops are sprouting up all over, major corporations, nonprofit groups and educational institutions have been scooping up people like Justin Rounds. They end up with exotic sounding job titles such as “director of interactive experience” or “online engagement manager.”
Typically, entry level salaries hover in the $35,000 to $55,000 range, said MITX founder Larry Weber. “
Big-Bit wants to hear from people that are keen to get into this space
I do think that some of the larger companies are very dedicated to having a strong Web presence. There are a lot of opportunities there as well.”
By Tom Vandyck, Globe Correspondent | October 14, 2007
You may have heard of Second Life, the virtual online world that draws millions of aficionados every day. Now imagine a Second Life specifically for business, a world where workers can gather, share files, and communicate securely in a fully animated 3D office environment in cyberspace.
Creating exactly that is what Justin Rounds does for a living. Rounds, 35, is a contractor for Sun Micro Systems in Burlington. He is one of the digital animators behind the MPK20 Project, Sun’s yet-to-be unveiled virtual workplace.
Only a few years ago, a job in new media simply meant Web design. No more. The advent of Web 2.0, the next stage in the Internet’s evolution, has spawned a wide variety of previously nonexistent digital media jobs.
“Technology keeps changing,” said Rounds. “There’s always going to be the next big thing, there’s always going to be a demand for people who are technical minded.”
While small-scale Web 2.0 shops are sprouting up all over, major corporations, nonprofit groups and educational institutions have been scooping up people like Justin Rounds. They end up with exotic sounding job titles such as “director of interactive experience” or “online engagement manager.”
Equally exotic sounding are the technical skills needed for Web 2.0 novices. Software packages like Ajax and Ruby on Rails for website development, or Maya and Blender for 3D animation are all the rage. Many did not exist until only a few years ago. Now they are essential tools.
Still, it takes more than geek credentials to make it in the world of the Web 2.0. Since the work is highly collaborative and only a minority of jobs are posted through traditional channels, social networking skills are just as important.
“There’s just a whole new landscape of jobs,” said Kiki Mills, executive director at the Massachusetts Information and Technology Exchange (MITX), a Cambridge-based digital media trade association. “Now more than ever, you’re able to share information. Obviously, careers are forming around all of this.”
Although purely technical knowledge remains important, a much wider array of skills and attitudes is required for ambitious Web 2.0 novices. The current crop of new media jobs can involve any combination of creating multimedia content, building real-time online communities, and maintaining a presence in the ever-expanding Web search universe.
“Essentially you’re going in as a problem solver for the organization you work for, and you’ve got a variety of tools to work with,” said Bob Daniels, executive director of Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts in Waltham.
As companies go to great lengths to make sure their names pop up on top of vital Google or Yahoo search result pages, another area that has seen explosive growth, is search engine management.Continued…
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