Career Opportunities in Web Development

Overall Assessment
The Work
Salaries
Employment Prospects
Career Paths
Success Profile
The Bentley Advantage in Web Development
Program of Study

Overall Assessment: Web Development Is the Future

A revolutionary development in communication, the World Wide Web offers unprecedented access to mass audiences. Just nine years ago (1991), Tim Berners-Lee put together the first rudimentary Web site at CERN in Switzerland. Today, the Web dominates our lives: through e-commerce, higher education, corporate knowledge management, b2b (business-to-business) partnerships, and day-to-day interactions for information, financial transactions, entertainment, and education.

Top

The Work: Designing and Developing for the Web Is Extraordinarily Creative

Web development teams are made up of writers, graphic artists, computer programmers, HTML experts, database designers, information architects, usability designers, quality controllers, network specialists, and system administrators. There is plenty of work for talented people in all these areas, especially as more and more businesses develop their Internet, intranet, and extranet presence.

Top

Salaries: Climbing Fast

Salaries in this field, relative to other areas of business communication, are quite high. Of course, salary depends upon skill level, industry experience, area of expertise, and type of organization (for example, profit or not-for-profit, traditional bricks-and-mortar or high tech firm, educational institution).

Reporting on a recent study undertaken by the Association of Internet Professionals (AIP), Kim Wamsett notes that "among the job categories analyzed in this survey, Technical Management reported the highest average total compensation, at $73,382, followed closely by Software Development ($72,503), CXO ($71,010), and Backend/Legacy Systems Development ($69,816). On the low end were the categories of Design/Layout ($46,734), Media Production ($48,909), System Administration ($50,565), and Content Development ($50,986)." (Internet salaries: How do you rate?)

This table from Wamsett’s article gives you a clear sense of the web development categories and the total compensation for each specialist:

* Total compensation includes base salary and bonus only.

Top

Employment Prospects: Growing

With the huge demand in all organizations for electronic management of information systems through intranets, with the proliferation of corporate e-business sites on the Internet, and with the growing demand for business-to-business (b2b) extranets, the employment prospects for web designers and developers looks extremely bright.

Top

Career Paths: Diverse

Your entry-level position will be determined by the courses you have taken. You should plan to take BC 370 Web Design I and BC 380 Web Design II, in addition to courses in database structures, network configurations, electronic commerce, and the like.

This list of position titles will give you some idea of your career potential in web development.

1. Web designer
2. Web content developer
3. Internet (intranet, extranet) developer
4. Internet strategist
5. Electronic commerce manager
6. Webmaster
7. Web editor (writer, content specialist)
8. Web publisher
9. Web graphic designer
10. Information architect
11. Usability and design specialist

For useful career information, visit the WebJobUSA site.

Top

Success Profile: Creativity, Technical Expertise, and Knowledge of Business

Here is what spells success in web development: Creativity, technical accomplishment, good writing and editing skills, close attention to detail, an ability to work successfully in teams, flexibility, and a sense of humor.

This actual position description lays out the qualifications for a web developer with a couple of years experience:

Bachelor’s degree with at least two years experience in web site development and/or online design/multimedia or electronic publishing. Proven experience in developing web pages (text, graphics forms, sound, and video), utilizing standard web languages and authoring tools, i.e. HTML, JavaScript, Photoshop, HomeSite, and FrontPage. Experience in either NT and/or UNIX web server administration and fluent in Windows desktop environment. Experience or familiarity with ASP, CFML, PERL, JAVA, DHTML, VisualBasic, Oracle and SQL is a plus. Must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team environment. Must be able to research and resolve application and problem issues. Portfolios are not necessary but encouraged. Online examples are a must.

Top

The Bentley Advantage in Web Development

As part of the BC Major, Bentley’s two web design courses offer you the opportunity to develop the professional and technical skills needed in this expanding and critically important field. In addition, courses from Computer Information Systems and Marketing will help you to broaden and deepen your expertise. In general, your courses in the business core give you an advantage in the marketplace for entry-level positions.

Top

Program of Study

What's actually involved in studying web development at Bentley?

You will need to take BC 370 Web Design I: Information Design Principles and Practices and BC 380 Web Design II: Information Architecture & Site Management. You should meet with your faculty advisor to plan your course selection in the BC program and in other departments at Bentley. The courses you select will determine your entry-level position. For more complete information about the Business Communication courses, be sure to check out our curriculum.

Home | ID Careers | ID Curriculum | PR Careers | PR Curriculum | Web Careers | Web Curriculum | Minor | Internships | Faculty | Alumni