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Web Page Designers/Masters/Mistresses

TRENDS

The explosive growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) has sent 
media and technology analysts and social anthropologists reeling in search 
of the appropriate means to interpret and evaluate this end of the century 
communications and cultural phenomenon.

Two definitions are in order:  The Internet is a worldwide computer network 
that offers the services of mail, file transfer, remote login, newsgroups, 
sharing software, accessing information, and talking with other people. 

The WWW is a global collection of programs called Web servers that dispense 
information to interested users.  The difference between the WWW and other 
sources of information on the Internet is its use of hypertext.  Hypertext 
allows information from multimedia sources to be included in a single 
document.  Text, pictures, sounds, and video can all be included in a 
hypertext document.  More importantly, hypertext documents can contain 
links to other hypertext documents anywhere else on the Web -- in the world.

A link allows for transition from one document to another transparently, 
without having to know where the document is located.  The Web servers do 
the work of finding the document and getting it to you through the 
intermediary of programs called browsers that ask servers for hypertext 
documents, and then format the documents for viewing (or hearing) by the 
user.

A recent survey by Dun & Bradstreet Corporation's Nielsen Media Research 
unit reports that 24 million people in the United States and Canada are on 
the Internet.  That's 11 percent of the North American (excluding Mexico) 
population over the age of 16.  Some 17.6 million people in the U. S. and 
Canada are using the WWW.  Take into account the fact that non-US traffic 
on the Internet exceeded 50 percent of the total traffic in 1995, and one 
comes up with a figure of close to 45 million users of the Internet 
worldwide--a figure hopelessly out-dated by now--because what is even more 
incredible is that the number of users and browsers of the Internet is 
increasing by an astounding eight percent each month.  Such an amazing 
amount of traffic has proved attractive to those wishing to advertise 
products and services.

So far, much of the promotion and marketing on the WWW has been done by 
individuals with small enterprises using web pages, with wildly varying 
degrees of expertise, to drum up business.  This situation is changing 
rapidly, however, as large corporations have begun to see the profitability
of a "web presence" and have begun to hire staff specifically to create and
maintain web sites.  According to the International Data Corporation, 
surveys indicate that 30 percent of U. S. businesses intend to make some
use of the WWW during the coming year, and 40 percent plan to utilize the
Internet.

The WWW has become a considerable marketplace and indications are that it 
will continue unabated as such for some time to come.  According to INPUT,
a market-Research and consulting firm in Mountain View, California, some 70
million dollars worth of goods and services were traded worldwide over the 
Internet in 1995, a total that could balloon to 250 billion dollars by the 
year 2000.

Increased use of the Internet by corporations will create thousands of new 
jobs nation-wide, and absolutely no one is in a position to predict when 
the anticipated employment boom will peak or how it will be characterized. 
The job titles of Web Master/Mistress and Web Page Designer have been 
recognized for scarcely a year.  Their evolution is on-going, just as the 
Internet is ever-changing; the duties of Web Master/Mistress and Web Page 
Designer may change completely over the next few years or new occupations 
may take their place entirely.

One certainty will be the ever-increasing demand by employers for Web Page 
Designers and Web Masters/Mistresses to be more technically proficient in 
computer graphics and its application in marketing.

Those with very basic skills in web page construction have taken advantage 
of the newness of the field and have been able to make appreciable amounts 
of money free-lancing their services to unknowing customers who have often 
paid large sums of money for rudimentary products.  These opportunities for
those with very basic skills will soon disappear as employers become more 
knowledgeable and discriminating.  More and more Web Page Designers and Web
Masters/Mistresses will be either working for sophisticated 
cyberadvertising and graphic design firms or will be working in-house for 
wages for large employers.


THE JOB

WEB PAGE DESIGNERS create web pages that contain information in the form of
text and graphics.  Web pages can serve any communicative purpose, and the 
information contained in them can be of any imaginable sort and may contain
"links", special hypertext or icons that, when clicked on with a computer's
mouse, transport the reader to a related page or a different web site 
altogether.  Web Page Designers start with information or data to be 
published on the WWW.  They need to know how to create and edit hypertext, 
and they need to know conventions and etiquette of the Web.  Web Page 
Designers must be proficient in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), the 
language currently used to create web pages (though it must be understood 
that new programming languages will be and probably are being developed) 
and which enables WWW browsers such as NetScape and Mosaic to read and 
interact with the text of the page.

Web Page Designers must have competence in and understanding of HTML 2.0, 
3.0 and other extensions, e.g., tables, frames, server-push/client-pull, 
server side includes, etc., as well as an appreciation for browser 
compatibility issues.  They must have knowledge of Common Gateway Interface 
(CGI) scripting typically including (but not necessarily limited to) Java 
Script, Perl, C, and UNIX shell scripts.  They must have basic graphic 
design capability, with the ability to produce attractive Web pages that 
are effective within the limitations of the delivery medium, and have a 
knowledge of graphics applications and techniques (e.g. Photoshop, Fractal 
Painter, and 3D modeling).  They must have a general awareness of and 
appreciation for the issues concerning the Internet and the World Wide Web,
such as download time/bandwidth, content driven pages, and graphics versus 
text.

Web Page Designers need general UNIX and Personal Computer (Microsoft 
Windows) awareness.  They must have basic skills and knowledge of TCP/IP 
and Networking (e.g., service ports, name servers, e-mail, USENET, HTTP, 
FTP, etc.).  They must have the ability to work well with customers and 
deliver a satisfactory customized product within the specified timelines.

WEB MASTERS/MISTRESSES, like Web Page Designers, may be the authors of web 
pages and should have the same basic skills and knowledge, but the emphasis
of their duties tends toward the maintenance, augmentation, and improvement
of existing pages.  They are often the mediators between Web Page Designers
and the system administrator, ensuring that applicable standards such as 
HTML validity and link liveliness are met.  They optimize the web 
architecture for navigability by web browsers.  They take editorial 
responsibility for the content, quality, and style of the site.  They find,
create, and install tools to create web content and check for consistency. 
They develop and enforce the house style, establish liaisons with graphic 
artists, and provide first level user support.

The duties of Web Masters/Mistresses can be divided into those involving 
quality assurance and user support.

Quality assurance consists of the maintenance of the home page and the 
hypertext files contained therein.  Web Masters/Mistresses assure quality 
by promoting the proper use of HTML and by staying abreast of developing 
HTML standards, so that hypertext served from the web site will look good 
on most browsers.  Web Masters/Mistresses promote proper use of weekly 
qualified relative Uniform Resource Locators (URLs--Internet addresses), so
that published files can be ported to various platforms and directory trees
with optimum ease.  They present a consistent visual image on the web by 
promoting uniform fonts, formatting, icons, images, layout techniques, and 
modularization, including maintenance of HTML template and image archives.

Web Masters/Mistresses provide the first level of user support by compiling
and maintaining a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page with answers and 
references to further information.  They assist users who are creating HTML 
fill-out forms by processing responses into HTML output and by managing the 
side effects of such processing. (The Web Master is usually not responsible 
for creating programs which process forms responses.) Web Masters/ 
Mistresses also provide user support by creating searchable indices.


WORKING CONDITIONS

Working conditions are quite pleasant.  Many of those who are self-employed
in these occupations work at home.  Employment is otherwise located in 
clean, cool, smoke free work places.  Since Web Page Designers and Web 
Masters/Mistresses must pay close attention to detail, they are shielded 
from any noise and disruptive activity. As a result, their offices or 
cubicles are as quiet and comfortable as can be arranged, usually with 
computer terminals nearby.

The work is sedentary, and prolonged work hours in front of a computer 
could lead to eye strain or carpal tunnel syndrome.


EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK

There are no reliable estimates as to the current number of Web Page 
Designers and Web Masters/Mistresses working in California.  There may be 
as many as 20,000 Web Page Designers working nation-wide and perhaps an 
equal number of Web Masters/Mistresses.  Neither occupation has an 
Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) code nor a Dictionary of 
Occupational Titles (DOT) code.

When US News & World Report listed Web Master in its "20 Hot Job Tracks" in
October of 1994, the job title was only a year old.  If the Internet 
continues to grow at its present pace, and all indications are that it 
will, the exploitation of its tremendous commercial potential will drive up
the demand for Web Page Designers and Web Masters/Mistresses, particularly 
those with marketing and computer graphics backgrounds.

Even if employment in these two occupations grows at only one-tenth the 
rate of growth of the Internet itself, the number of Web Page Designers and
Web Masters/Mistresses will increase by over 68 percent in the four years 
between 1995 and the year 2000.

One must keep in mind, however, that the future of the WWW, although 
promising, cannot be accurately predicted, and it follows that the whole 
phenomenon is so relatively new and the technology involved is so mutable 
that the employment associated with it also cannot be projected with any 
confidence.

A helpful gauge of the growth to be anticipated for Web Page Designers and 
Web Masters/Mistresses would be the examination of Projections of 
Employment for Computer Scientists and Related Workers, Not Elsewhere 
Classified, a broad occupational grouping within which many in the two 
occupations will likely be found, and a closely related occupation, 
Computer Systems Analysts.

Computer Scientists and Related Workers, Not Elsewhere Classified ranks 
well ahead of all other occupational categories in California in terms of 
predicted growth percentage and should increase by 123 percent by the year 
2005.

The number of Computer Systems Analysts in California will almost double by
the end of the year 2005, growing from 45,130 workers to 88,480.


WAGES, HOURS, AND FRINGE BENEFITS

The range of earnings for both Web Page Designers and Web Masters/
Mistresses is very wide.  Web Page Designers can earn from $20,000 to 
$70,000 per year with an average salary of approximately $40,000.  A 
full-time, in-house staff Web Master might make anywhere from $30,000 to
$100,000 per year.  A college student wanting to do Web Master work for 
the summer could make from $25 to $50 per hour per project.

Web Page Designers and Web Masters/Mistresses who are self-employed keep 
their own hours.  Those who work on a salary basis for large established
firms usually work 40 hours a week, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, but overtime can be common, especially when striving to meet 
deadlines.  Most such employers offer benefit packages that include health,
dental, and vision insurance plans; holiday and vacation leave; and 
retirement plans.


ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS AND TRAINING

As with other emerging occupations, the entrance requirements and training 
needs are not set in stone.  Employers are looking for creative and 
innovative job applicants with good writing skills and experience in 
computer sciences, programming, electrical engineering, graphics, 
advertising, art and design.

Taking college courses in computer science and graphic design may be the 
best academic preparation for these two occupations, and it may be best if 
the emphasis is put on the latter as far as web page design goes.

There are advantages and disadvantages to entering a growing field.  On the 
plus side is the infancy of the Web and the opportunity to embrace a new 
technology, the disadvantage is that same infancy and the lack of an 
authoritative, cohesive source of instruction and guidance.  The 
opportunities are there, but one should not depend upon books or look for 
curriculum on the subject.  The average book takes six months to publish. 
By that time, a book on web page design or web mastering would be out of 
date.

Undoubtedly the best way to understand the Internet and plunge into web 
design is to invest in a good computer and high speed modem.  Self-
education is the key, and hands on experience is paramount in this field.
Once one has explored the WWW thoroughly and has visited enough sites to 
get an idea of the state of the art, one should acquire an HTML manual and
experiment by designing one's own homepage.

There are a number of HTML manuals available on-line, e.g.

"A Beginner's Guide to HTML", located on the WWW at:
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/www/HTMLPrimer.html

"Composing Good HTML", at:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tilt/cgh

and "Guides to Writing Good HTML", at:
http://www.hypernews.org/HyperNews/get/www.html


ADVANCEMENT

In large firms, persons who begin as Web Page Designers may be promoted to 
Web Masters/Mistresses.  Web Masters/Mistresses who show leadership ability
also can advance to jobs as System Administrators or as managers of other 
departments within their firm.  Some Web Masters/Mistresses with several 
years of experience may start their own Internet marketing consulting 
firms.


FINDING THE JOB

One can set oneself up in business by the simple expedient of setting up a 
web page and advertising one's services as a Web Page Designer.  The 
occupation is still enough in its infancy to afford relatively easy 
opportunities to make money.  With an attractive web site, employers and 
clients will come to you.

It is important for Web Page Designers to show clients and employers a 
portfolio of previous work.  One can post one's resume on the Web, 
utilizing various free on-line resume and portfolio services on the 
Internet.  One such service is Virtual Resume located at 
http://www.virtualresume.com/vitae/

Scan the newspaper ads for job openings; attend graphic artist professional 
association meetings; a number of web design and web master associations 
are springing up.  Jobs can be looked for on the Web through on-line 
magazines such as "Hot Wired", and through such on-line services as the 
Usenet Job Guide, the Job Bank Directory, the E-Span CareerPro Database, 
etc.

With a growing awareness of the employment possibilities on the Web, 
college and university career counselors will probably be providing good
leads for job opportunities in this field.


ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

The Internet:

Log on to the Internet and use a search engine such as Lycos or AltaVista 
to do searches on "Web Page Designers" and "Web Masters" or "Web 
Mistresses".  A wealth of information is available.

Institute for the Certification of Computer Professionals
2200 East Devon Avenue, Suite 268
Des Plaines, IL  60018
(708) 299-4227

Graphic Arts Guild
11 W 20th Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10011-3704
(212) 463-7730

American Marketing Association
250 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 200
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 648-0536

The Society for Technical Communication (STC)
901 N. Stuart St., Suite 904
Arlington, VA  22203-1854
(703) 522-4114

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
Professional Communications Society
345 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10007
(212) 705-7900


RELATED OCCUPATIONAL GUIDES

Commercial Artists                        No.    004
Computer Programmers                      No.    081
Copywriters                               No.    163
Computer Systems Analysts                 No.    541
Professional Occupations in Multimedia    No.  2006A


OCCUPATIONAL CODE REFERENCES

DOT (Dictionary of Occupational Titles, 4th ed., Rev. 1)
  None at this time.

OES (Occupational Employment Statistics) System
  None at this time.


Source:  State of California, Employment Development Department,
         Labor Market Information Division, Information Services Group,
         (916) 262-2162.