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Strategies for Online Learning—Week 5, Assignment 1

Researching a career

If you are a non-traditional student that is employed, complete Internet research to compare your current position with those of similar career responsibilities. Compare roles and salaries with that of what you expect after you complete your program of study, run a few comparisons on the same expectations and salaries for different geographic locations as well. You are to write a 1-2 page paper summarizing what you’ve found to the Discussion Area by Day 3. Along with your paper, include all of the web sites you used in writing your paper. For this assignment, don’t worry about posting a final “polished” piece of work. At this point, simply post a “rough draft” of your findings.

I am currently employed in my field of study, Interactive Media Design. I manage the Web sites for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the largest daily newspaper in interior Alaska. I have held my position for four years, in which time I have received three raises, sales commissions, numerous one-time and monthly bonuses, 2 weeks paid vacation per year, a large office, a laptop for home, and new computers and monitors at work, as well as the health and life insurance policies offered to all employees. Additionally, my employer has agreed to fund my further education here at AIO.

My employer is a relatively large company for the city where I live, but is still small by most standards. The News-Miner employs roughly 150 people. I, however, am one of only two resident IT staff members. Though most people do not—or cannot—distinguish our separate roles, they are very different. While the other staff member manages the company’s computer systems, I maintain the company Web site. To confuse things further, I help to cover his job responsibilities when he is out sick, is on vacation, or is simply busy.

At salary.com, a Web site that aggregate salary information from sources across the nation, I conducted a search for my generic job title, “Webmaster.” While my job description is slightly broader because I work in a small company, the job description on the site accurately describes what I do on a daily basis.

Webmaster
Develops and maintains the company’s portal. Performs backups and ensure user accessibility to the site. Monitors site traffic and helps scale site capacity to meet traffic demands performance. Improves the company’s efficiency and designs the look and feel for the site. May require a bachelor’s degree and 2-4 years of experience. Must have a working knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, and SQL. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of tasks. Works under general supervision; typically reports to a manager. A certain degree of creativity and latitude is required.

The scale of actual salaries in my occupation seems a little high to me, though. Perhaps my expectations are too low. My salary falls slightly below the low end of the scale that was generated:

Fairbanks, AK:

I also looked at the same the position in Seattle, Washington, and Mountain View, California, in the heart of the Silicon Valley.

Seattle, WA:

Mountain View, CA:

As can be seen in the graphs, the salaries for Mountain View and Fairbanks are very close, differing only by $24 at most. Seattle offers Webmasters roughly $4,000 to $8,000 less annually.

Another source gives information on the status of the industry rather than my particular occupation. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics offers an Occupational Outlook Handbook, in which can be found a Career Guide to Industries. There is a page in this career guide that outlines the nature of the industry, working conditions, employment, occupations in the industry, training and advancement, outlook, and earnings for Computer Systems Design and related services.

Apparently, my position in a company of 100 or more employees is rare; 78 percent of workers in this industry are employed by companies of 5 employees or fewer.

• http://salary.com/