CareersInTheInternet.2000

The WetFeet.comInsider Guide

Careers in theInternet2 0 0 0

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Careers in the Internet

ISBN: 1-58207-087-3

Internet Careers at a Glance 1

The IndustryOverview 4The Bottom Line 6What It Is 7People in the Industry 8Industry Breakdown 9Internet Trends 10Picking and Choosing 12

On the JobCareers 16Senior Producer, Director Level 19Software Engineer 23Director of Marketing 26Content Production Manager 30

The WorkplaceLifestyle, Hours, and Culture 36Workplace Diversity 37Vacation 38Compensation 39Career Path 39Insider Scoop and Watch Outs 41

Getting HiredThe Recruiting Process 46The Interview Process 49Interviewing Tips 50Grilling Your Interviewer 51Your Interviewer Grills You 52

For Your ReferenceRecommended Reading 54

Quick TOC

At a G l a n c e 1

T h e I n d u s t r y 3

O n t h e J o b 1 5

T h e Wo r k p l a c e 3 5

G e t t i n g H i r e d 4 5

Fo r Yo u r R e f e r e n c e 5 3

Table of Contents

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Internet Careers at a Glance

Opportunity Overview> Undergrads enter the field as production assistants, editorial assistants,

marketing assistants, programmers, graphic artists, and in various other roles. These entry-level jobs can lead to rapidly increased responsibility, particularly at newly launched start-ups.

> MBAs enter into business development, marketing, finance, product management, strategic planning, and sales.

> Mid-career professionals from other industries often enter at a higher level than undergrads, in positions analogous to their offline jobs.

Major Pluses About Careers in the Internet> Insiders coo over the fact that they get to spend their days shaping the

future of a medium that is revolutionizing how people work, think, and live.

> Fluid work environment full of bright young people. This industry doesnthave strict dress codes, hierarchies, or career paths.

> Due to the influx of VC money to start-ups, and the competition for skilled employees, salaries in this industry generally start at a high level, so that stock options are often gravy. If your company has an IPO, youll have the chance to get rich in a hurry. Youll also get valuable experience and skills.

Major Minuses About Careers in the Internet> Insiders complain about the long hours, and your e-mail will follow you

home at night. Indeed, many start-ups have an almost cultish quality about themyour life is your work and your work is your life.

> Just because the ideas great doesnt mean the company will succeed. Theindustry frequently goes topsy-turvy. One days sure thing can be the next days bust.

> As Internet companies merge and consolidate, positions are reshuffled and sometimes eliminated. As companies succeed, they tend to grow morecorporate and often lose the casual, nonhierarchical environment that attracted employees in the first place.


Recruiting Overview> Many company websites provide ample information on job opportunities,

the culture of the company, and the skills youll need to get a job. Insidersrecommend finding a business youre interested inthere are Web companies devoted to every subject under the sun.

> The surest way into a dot com is through personal connections. Many companies fill more than half of their openings through friends of employees, and many dot coms offer referral bonuses to employees who reel in new talent.

> Recruiting criteria vary widely from company to company and can emphasize personality and attitude as much as experience, so make sure youve got all three in good shape.

> Be prepared for haphazard interviews. Some companies are hiring so rapidly that managers dont have time to prepare properly, and they may have little interviewing experience in the first place.

In the Recruiters WordsHow do you decide which candidates advance in the interviewing process?

In the 60s, all the smart youth of America headed to Washington, D.C. towork for Kennedys Camelot. In the 80s, they went to Wall Street. And in the90s, they are working for Internet companies. I can understand why. There isso much public attention and adulation lavished on this industry, and you canmake a good deal of do-re-mi if you get lucky.

E-commerce product manager

In general, if we have a sense of our mind of the profile of the person werelooking for. One to three years experience in public relation or sales, or havingbeen a product manager or project manager. Its kind of an intuitive feelingyou get about someone. You can get a resume, but thats only the cover of thebook. Were looking for the real person.

We ask people to show us what they can do. If its a salesperson, we ask themto come up with a sales plan. We want them to tell us what behaviors they willengage in that will bring about effective performance. Were pretty prosaic inthat sense. The one thing the Internet does do is give us a chance to havemore contact with people. Its very time-intensive.

--Yahoo recruiter

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The Industry In the online world, smart means you can do several things

at once without having your head explode.

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Overview Just as sites like Yahoo, Excite, and AOL have aggregated material from thou-

sands of content-generating sites, the Internet brings together a huge collection

of industries. The Internet is making possible connections and relationships that

were impossibleor illogical, or simply not feasiblewhen the world was

offline. The Internet has transformed our relationship with information, boost-

ing the speed at which we can gather it and the ease with which we can collect

and use it.

Youll hear Yahoo and others refer to themselves as media companies, or enter-tainment companies, or some name thatll be invented after this guide goes topress. Thats because were still in the exploratory phase of the Internet.Companies are forming every day and trying to figure out how to use theInternet as a medium to make moneyor in many cases, to gain members andshare of mind while losing money. Services we didnt imagine ten years agoautomated software to do your taxes and submit them to the IRS, invitationsthat let you RSVP to parties, groceries you can buy online and have deliveredwhen you want themhave enabled previously unimaginable commercial andsocial interactions. And such services have their equivalents in the business-to-business market: Plasticsnet.com enables companies to purchase plasticsonline, medical schools can buy Don Jake Saunders Model Hearts from theMedical Plastics Laboratory, and circuses find it easier than ever to orderSchnattlacher Clown Noses in bulk.

The success of many of these business sites depends on their traffic; companiesare spending big money to attract eyeballs. Affiliations and partnerships arealso driving traffic. WetFeet.com, for instance, partners with sites ranging fromDiversity Search Partners (an executive search firm dedicated to attracting anddeveloping minority candidates) to Exp.com (which helps match people whoneed advice with experts who can give it). Such relationships help buildWetFeet.coms business by bringing career seekers to the site and giving themuseful information that we cant provide.

As an insider puts it, The product you work on is always continuing to grow.Its very organic that way. Over time, the maze of links has become difficult tonavigate. More than 3.5 million sites exist, and that number grows daily. Peoplespend untold hours surfing the wrong sites and finding things they dont need.Thats one of the reasons every dot com and its partner is trying to get peopleto know where it is, leading to amusing ads (the naked guy for Beyond.com)

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and innovative methods for communicating the companys message (dot-comads on boats in San Francisco Bay).

Meanwhile, bricks-and-mortar stores such as the Gap, Macys, and BordersBooks have entered the online arena. And the same thing is happening in thebusiness-to-business market, one of the biggest and fastest-growing e-commercearenas. In fact, the most profitable websites are run by some of the biggestbusiness-to-business players: Cisco, Intel, and IBM.

The Web RushThis rush to the Web is a rush to capitalize on an ever-narrowing window ofopportunity. Financiers on Wall Street and in the venture capital industry havebacked dot coms with billions of dollars in funding. Investors recognize Webbusinesses advantages of reduced overhead (in rent, salaries, and so on) andthe ability to better tailor services to individual shoppers. By tracking wherepeople travel online, a company can target promotions and other deals to thatpersonwhich makes it possible to partner with outside sites and derive rev-enue not from what the consumer spends but through the information thatconsumer provides. Sites can also bring together hordes of consumers, and usethat mass to command better prices from vendors, which are then passed on tocustomers.

While most companies havent figured out how to convert their businesses intomoneymakers yet, the new rules permit so many new things that they and theirbackers are betting theyll be able to figure it out eventually. Not all will comeout winners. But some willand those winnings are likely to translate into ten-digit profits. Its an industry for builders, not managers, says an industry ana-lyst.

The Internet TodayThe Internet Tomorrow?The Internet is still a nascent medium. We havent figured out the next genera-tion of computing and technology, but we expect it to make the Web evenmore pervasive. We know its going to be different, and that it will make somepeople rich. The gold rush of the late 20th century is the Internet, and for bet-ter or for worse, were packing our bags.

All this promise attracts some talented people who wont back down from thechallenge of figuring out a new industry. Rather than demanding specific expe-rience, many Internet companies seek people who are smart, flexible, fun, anddedicated. In the online world, smart means you can do several things at oncewithout having your head explode. Can you keep your cool when there is chaosall around you? Can you live with the possibility that your company might not


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you answer yes, this industry may be perfect for you.

Personality is a huge part of [hiring], says a cofounder of a developmentagency. Were looking for people who fit into our mentality and worldview.You have to get along with the people you work with...I thought Id have after-noons off and wander around the city to look at art. It has become more thana full-time commitment.

Some of the dot-com industrys more energized start-ups, like Yahoo andAmazon.com, have already grown into billion-dollar enterprises shaped likecorporate giants. But even big Web companies retain a distinctly looser culturethan youll find at Fortune 500 firms. If anything binds together the dot-comcompanies born over the past few years, its a culture full of dedicated, hard-working young people. Workplaces can feel more like college dorms than busi-nesses.

The Bottom LineHistorically, dot-coms look for self-starters who are self-motivated and ener-gized by work. They dont care if youve got purple hair or nose rings. Start-upswant creative people who can contribute. Youve also got to be flexiblebusi-ness plans, job descriptions, and partners change weekly. Nothings guaran-teedyour stock options may make you rich; more likely, they wont. Yourmanager might be younger than you, and may well have never managedbefore.

Its hard to imagine a career in the Internet if youre not comfortable aroundcomputers. Nearly every task involves computing. Some Internet jobs requirethe willingness to spend most daylight hoursand plenty of dark hoursin achair, tapping away on a keyboard, staring into a computer screen.

While such generalizations still hold true, dot-coms have started to distinguishthemselves from each other. Culture varies by company. When you look forjobs, find a place where you like the peopleyoull work with them a lot bet-ter. The companies most likely to succeed have an energy about thempeopleare working long hours, theyre excited, they believe in what theyre doing.Theres a big difference between a start-up and a company thats had its IPO.The start-up has a different mandate, its probably smaller, and theres moreroom to make mistakes. Insiders at companies that have gone public reportmore shareholder pressure to perform.

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When you pick a company, remember that its current stage will greatly affecthow things get done and what youre able to do. One insider describes the vari-ous phases of a dot-com like a car trip. When you start, youre zipping alongthrough a valley. As you grow a bit, you hit the foothills, and it takes twice aslong to cover the same distance. When you get even bigger, you find yourselfwinding through the mountains, where you cant safely maintain anythingapproaching the speed you started out with.

What It IsLike many great inventions, the Internet has its origins in warthough the warit was developed for hasnt, fortunately, taken place. The Department ofDefense wanted to build a network of computers that could survive a nuclearholocaust. It established the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) todevelop the necessary technology, and by 1969 ARPANet was interconnectingcomputers at UCLA, Stanford, UCSB, and the University of Utah. (Outside ofthe military, ARPANet was initially used only by university professors and stu-dents.)

The network grew in the 1980s, from 1,000 hosts in 1984 to 10,000 in 1987 to amillion in 1989. By 1990, ARPANet had ceased to existcommercial vendorshad taken over. By 1994 business had started going online. From there, theindustry exploded, so that in less than five years, virtually every name businesswas online. And in some areas of the U.S., it seemed impossible to escape thedot-com billboards, television commercials, and print articles. As if it haddowned a double espresso, the culture was suddenly wired.

The Internet isnt the World Wide Web. The Internet is the global network ofcomputersthe hardwarethat moves data; the World Wide Web is a subset ofthe Internet, formed by the pages stored on the hardware.


People in the IndustryThis is an industry for quick thinkers and skilled improvisers. Entry- and middle-level workers must often pitch in to fill the gaps that inevitably springup during site launches, product marketing, and partnering. At higher levels,companies need action-oriented executives more than traditional companiesdo. As a founder of a company puts it, Instead of a project that needs to getdone in a year, youve got three months, and its got to be great.

Because of the constantly changing nature of the industry, its participants tendto have a higher than average risk tolerance. Its very aggressive. Its very com-petitive. Theres a lot of people who have a willingness to take risks, says aninsider.

And were not just talking about company founders and CEOs. If youre hop-ing to park yourself at the same desk until the day you retireor even for ayearthis isnt the right business for you. But if your dream job includes work-ing with smart people on projects that move incredibly quickly, you should beable to find what youre looking for at an Internet company.

People in this business tend to be people who like to push themselves andtake charge of their work, says an insider. [In] the culture of a start-up, every-body will share a common cause. I suspect everybodys drinking the same Kool-Aid, so to speak.

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Industry BreakdownInternet companies come in many flavors. Many defy categorization; theInternet tends to blur the lines between competitors and partners, andInternet companies business models are in a constant state of evolution. Whatfollows is an attempt to provide a basic picture of the different kinds ofInternet companies out there.

MediaMedia on the Internet covers a wide spectrum, from online publications thattry to make money by selling advertising or subscriptions, to companies likeReal Networks that create software that helps bring media to life on theInternet. On the publication side, there are both online ventures of traditionalmedia companies, like New York Times Interactive, and pure online plays likethe financial site TheStreet.com. Other niche media sites include the sportsentertainment company Quokka, the short film and animation company AtomFilms, and the online music company Listen.com. Service providers, such asAOL, and portals, such as Yahoo, also see themselves as media companies(thats one reason AOL purchased Time Warner).

E-Commerce E-commerce companies make money by selling goods or services. Business-to-consumer (B-to-C) companies, such as Amazon.com, sell their goods and ser-vices to consumers. Business-to-business (B-to-B) operations, such as CiscoSystems, sell to other businesses. Other types of online e-commerce playersinclude online auction houses and marketplaces, such as eBay and VerticalNet,that facilitate the exchange of goods between buyers and sellers.

PortalsPortals, which account for some of the busiest websites, are aggregators. Theyprovide a huge number of links to other websites and businesses and aredesigned to serve as home base for Web surfers. These sites make their moneyfrom advertising and through alliances with companies that pay for the privi-lege of serving as the aggregators preferred provider of travel services orgreeting cards or whatever. Today, portals offer a wide array of services, includ-ing e-mail, shopping, news, and community. Major portals include Yahoo,Excite@Home, Lycos, and LookSmart.


Internet ServicesIn this context, Internet services covers all of the companies that support andenable the Internet. Included in this category are Internet service providerslike Earthlink that help companies and individuals get on the Web, consultingfirms like Scient that help companies design and develop e-businesses, andonline advertising companies like DoubleClick.

Internet InfrastructureMany companies build the infrastructure necessary to create and maintain awebsite. Vignette, for instance, builds content management systems; Oracle cre-ates databases for Internet companies; and Broadcom creates circuits thatenable data, video, and other broadband communication.

Internet TrendsAnyone whos been working at a dot-com for a while knows that trends comeand go about as fast the days. Several magazines, all of which have websites, doa good job of reporting them: Business 2.0, Fast Company, and The IndustryStandard all cover the latest technology and tell you what everybodys abuzzabout. Theyll also help you sound like youre on top of the changes in theindustry when you interview.

A couple of prognostications are in order. The first is that as companies growup theyll be acquired, go public, ally with others, or merge. Those that get aninfusion of venture capital may go on a buying spree; those that go public maystart trading stock for acquisition to consolidate their position. dot-coms wontbe stable until their owners figure how to make as much as they spend. Thelarger, more established Internet players will be using the heavy artillery,shoring up their positions and diversifying their offerings by acquiring smallercompanies with the products and killer apps they can use. Well-funded com-panies will surely continue to develop their own technologies. But where theycan get the same benefit by buying up smaller companies, they will.

What follows is an attempt to articulate whats happening, in general, at dot-coms. For the latest scoop, check out the industry magazines or WetFeet.com.10


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Out With B2C, In With B2BFor much of 1999, investors were focused on business-to-consumer companieslike eToys and Pets.com that sold products or services to consumers. At theend of 1999, B2C companies saw their stock prices plunge due to a gluttedmarket and investor dissatisfaction with their inability to make money. Investorexcitement has since turned to the business-to-business sector, or to companiesthat offer products and services to other businesses. This shift has many tradi-tional B2C companiessuch as AOL, Yahoo, and Beyond.comquickly mov-ing to build their B2B services.

Even the wisest industry analysts are at a loss to say exactly where the Internetis going. All they can agree upon is the fact that it is growing. As a result,investor interest is likely to shift many more times as the industry evolves. Sincemany Internet companies rely on outside investors to cover their operatingcosts, they must respond to investors changing attitudes. Dont be surprised ifthe Internet company you join looks very different four months after you start.

The Truth About Stock OptionsEmployees stampede to Internet jobs has been at least partially driven by thephenomenal performance of Internet and high-tech stocks over the last severalyears. Stock options and the possibility of a company completing a successfulIPO have become major recruiting tools for Internet companies.

But in April 2000 we saw just how unstable the market for Internet stocks canbe. As investors patience with some Internet companies waned, many compa-nies saw their stock prices cut considerably. Some companies were forced topostpone planned IPOs and watch helplessly as market interest in their busi-ness models faded.

While the media does its best to make getting rich off stock options seem like acommon occurrence, the odds are actually slim. Options are an exciting fea-ture of the industry, but you should consider many other factorssalary, bene-fits, company culture, learning opportunitieswhen choosing an Internetcompany to work for.

Break Out Your Language PrimersAs the Web spreads through Europe, Asia and Latin America, sites in other lan-guages are popping up all over the place. In 1999, 54 percent of all websiteswere in English, but Business Week projects that within four years, 54 percent ofall sites could be in other languages.


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It seems unlikely that the entrepreneurial spirit that has driven the Websgrowth will disappear or even lose steam anytime soon. Im positive that thereare hundreds, if not thousands, of very successful ideas for Web services thatare being worked out by folks all over the world right now, explains one insid-er. Where there is money to be made, clever folks will figure out how to makea new idea work.

What happens in the online world during the next few years may determinethe future not only of the Internet industry, but of business in general. Theinnovations created and enacted by Web workers will trigger advances infinance, education, retail, the arts, and many other aspects of modern life. Ithink this industry is going to take over, predicts one insider. It will be like allthose sci-fi movies. You come home from work and your Internet connectionwill be superfast and replace your TV, phone, mailbox, credit card, shoppingmall, everything.

Picking and ChoosingWhy does everybody want to work on the Web? Partially, it is because it is thecool thing to do, concedes an insider. Much of the nations job growth is hap-pening in this sector, and you certainly dont have to look far to find peoplewho extol the virtues of cyberspace. But online life may not be for everyone.Believe it or not, other industries existed before the advent of the Internet,and they are still with us today. Many kinds of brick-and-mortar businesses willprobably wind up being replaced by electronic commerce. But individuals witha taste or talent for certain aspects of new media can often find equally appeal-ing opportunities offline.

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Software Company vs. Internet CompanyIf you have a technical bent but dont know if you can stomach the uncertaintyof an Internet company, you might prefer a career in software. Innovative soft-ware products play a key part in the development of the Internet. But they arealso important for a variety of other customerssmall-business owners, gamers,artists, students, writers, and others. See for yourself how the descriptions onthe following chart match your interests and expectations.

Software Company Internet Company

Office Culture Egalitarian and laid-back Egalitarian and laid-back

Control over Finished Minimal: The software specs Maximal: You dictate

Product dictate your role specs and functionality

Compensation Good pay, good benefits, Good pay, good benefits,

great profits for lucky great profits for lucky

stockholders stockholders

Have a Life? Depends upon where you Workcycle is constant

are in the project cycle hours unpredictable;

hard to plan leisure

Deadlines Long-term, fixed targets Shorter-term, constantly

changing targets

Task Variety Usually hired to do one thing Often hired to do many

things with a chance to

do more

The Long View Distribution channels may Some companies will soar;

change, but the demand for others will crash and burn

software will not let up or merge


Traditional Media vs. New MediaMany Internet workers are former members of the traditional media.Newspaper reporters, magazine editors, layout artists, and writers with a varietyof specialties have all found their way to new media. In Web-based businesseswith an e-commerce component, writers and editors work primarily as contentproviders; they create or format the added-value materials visitors encounterwhen they visit a website. Offline business-end employees and advertising repstend to perform analogous functions when they join Web businesses.

Traditional Media New Media

Office Culture / Office Intellectual and hierarchical; Intellectual and less

Politics lots of nepotism and hierarchical; no time

back-stabbing for politics

Control over Finished The higher up on the More control at all levels

Product masthead, the more control

Compensation The higher up on the Compensation varies

masthead, the better the according to skill and

compensation company performance

Have a Life? More likely to work regular Work cycle is constant;

hours and have a normal life harder to plan leisure

Deadlines Deadlines vary; lengthy proofing Shorter deadlines;

and printing process changes and fixes can be

immediate

Task Variety Hired to do one thing; many Tasks can vary day to day

freelance to branch out hour to hour, depending

upon priorities

The Long View Daily papers will continue to Hits are up, but only

fail; many media outlets will those sites that can

develop an online component translate users into

dollars will survive

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On the JobAt Internet companies people are creating these entirely new

markets, and thats where the opportunity is.

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CareersFor more information on the careers described below, check out WetFeet.coms in-depthcareer profiles at www.wetfeet.com.

Web DevelopmentWeb developers come from a variety of backgrounds. Some have grown up withthe Internet. Others have adapted skills from offline jobs in brand manage-ment, desktop publishing, or journalism. In the past, most Web developerswere independent contractors or worked for outsourcing firms. But as websiteshave gone from an auxiliary part of a company to a companys focus, thedemand for in-house talent has grown.

The ensuing description of career tracks provides a general introduction to therange of opportunities in Web development. Keep in mind that job descrip-tions in Web development are fluid, and that the same title can mean very dif-ferent things at different companies.

Web DesignWeb designers create the look and feel of a website. They design logos, ban-ners, and other graphics; determine where to put text; and structure a sitesnavigation. Designers must consider download times as well as aesthetics andfunctionality. They also work closely with the marketing team and brandingexperts to ensure that a site conveys a consistent image. Smaller organizationsthat lack the budget or inclination to maintain a website themselves frequentlyoutsource the design function.

Web ProgrammersProgrammers turn the Web development teams concepts into a functioningsite. They must know HTML, the basic coding language of websites, inside andout. Most are experts in more sophisticated programming languages such asJava, JavaScript, CGI, and Perl. Programmers should also have experience withWeb development tools like Dreamweaver, Flash, and Cold Fusion. Such lan-guages and tools enhance websites with animation, sound, interactive games,online forms, and e-commerce functions.

While highly technical coding knowledge is essential, programmers also musthave a strong understanding of user interface design. They need to know howpeople use and interact with their computers.

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Web ProductionWeb producers play different roles in different organizations. In some cases,they code a sites text and graphics. In other cases, they coordinate acrossdepartments to make sure a website works. That is, they make sure links leadwhere they are supposed to lead, that online forms function as the program-mer intended, and that everything else on the site does what it should.Producers also track user behavior and work with other departments to incor-porate what they learn into the sites general operation.

Content DevelopmentContent developers often work out of the Web production department. Theycreate the contentwhether text, audio, or video clipsthat visitors see whenthey access a website. Content developers write, edit, shape, and publish arti-cles, features, and other information on a website. They also work with pro-grammers to define and build extra features such as salary calculators or inter-active games. Often, content developers are responsible for the look and feelof a particular area within a site, adding information and moving it around,sending newsletters to users, and so on.

Project ManagementProject managers lead teams to get things done. They set production deadlinesand make sure everyone works together. Project managers may lead discreteprojects, such as adding a community function to a website, or oversee widerareas. In many ways, the project managers role is similar to that of the produc-er, but on a lower level. The role requires excellent communication skills, astrong technical background, financial planning ability, and management expe-rience.

Systems AdministrationThe systems administrator is the IT professional responsible for maintainingand servicing an organizations server, hardware, and software. Systems admin-istrators look after the security of the computer system and how it interfaceswith the Internet service provider.

An e-commerce site may also have a technical administrator for its transaction-al software. The programming behind online transactions is far more compli-cated than for standard Web production. Security and technology issues arethe main concerns of technical administrators. They ensure that e-commercetransactions run smoothly and dont bog down other Web applications.


Business DevelopmentFrom affiliate programs to revenue-sharing agreements, dot-coms build theirbusinesses around partnerships, which can expand a companys network geo-metricallydirecting traffic to its site, building its brand equity, and opening itto new markets and revenue streams. Business developers initiate and negotiatethese important relationships.

Often the biggest challenge facing business developers is negotiating the termsof partnership deals. In the Internet industry, negotiating can be especiallytricky since theres no standard for valuation. Many Web companies barter withpartners by trading content or swapping advertising space. Getting anothercompany interested in a partnership is just the beginningdrafting a contractand negotiating its terms can drag on for months.

Other OpportunitiesInternet companies hire significant numbers of people into marketing, humanresources, finance, operations, and general management. Such roles tend toresemble their offline equivalents. People with Web skills and experience at adot-com may find it slightly easier to break in to an Internet company, butthose with a substantial offline track record shouldnt have too much trouble.

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Senior Producer,Director Level

Age: 29Years in business: 5Education: BA in LiteratureHours per week: 40, 8:30 to 5:30, but as we ramp up my hours will increasehere and there as needed.Size of company: 15 peopleSpecial Skills: HTML. Anybody who wants to work in this industry, especiallyon the production management side, should know basic HTML. Annual salary: $85,000 plus stock options plus performance or signing bonus,depending on role. I dont have any benefits right now, but well have those ina couple of months.

What do you do?I work in between all the different departments. In general, I work with theengineering, editorial, marketing, sales, and design departments to pull thingstogether and I develop, implement, and launch new content on the Website. Ireport to the VP of Product Development. Some of my projects include hiringa production artists, developing processes for producing all the graphics onour site, and working with the sales team to implement our commerce relation-ships.

How did you get your job?Previously, I was a producer for a media company. I took some time off to free-lance, and during that time a friend passed on some information about thisnew company. She knew the people here, knows the industry really well, andthought Id fit in well. I wrote to the VP of Product Development and men-tioned my friend. We e-mailed back and forth for a couple of months. After wegot to know each other, and after meeting them and finding out what theywere doing and how they were working, I got very fired up about both thecompany and the people. Part of the excitement was that it was a start-up.


What are your career aspirations?Im not sure. I think Id like to work with some established players, but for thetime being, I really like small companies. Right now, I like working with smallgroups of people. I really like the start-up environment. But sometimes I thinkitd be a lot of fun to consult; that would give me the freedom to work with alot of different kinds of companies.

What kinds of people do well in this business?In my job, people who get along with all different kinds of people and peoplewho really like people. If youre not a people person, this job isnt going to bea good fit. The best manager I ever had, when I asked her what her secret was,she said the secret is to love everyone. At first I thought that sounded corny,but thinking about it, I think that makes perfect sense. You really need to beopen-minded and open-hearted to be a good manager. Also having no fearwhen it comes to technology and being able to jump in and figure out whatyou need to figure out is an important skill.

What do you really like about your job?I like getting to work with all different departments. Im fascinated by the engi-neering and programming side of thing, but I dont want to be a programmer;Im fascinated by design, I love to read about it and learn about it, but I dontwant to be a designer; Im really interested in market research and marketing.The more I know about other areas, the easier it is to do my job. And I likebeing a part of something thats fulfilling users needsa product that reallyoffers a service to the users. Also its a fun industry.

What do you dislike?Its hectic sometimes; theres a lot of flying by the seat of your pants, and Itend to like a little more structure. Sometimes it can be really long hours andstressful deadlines. Flying by the seat of your pants is exciting, but you have tobe a risk-taker.

What is the biggest misconception about your job? Its not a design position or engineering position or marketing position; jobseekers may think it takes less experience or is easy to get into it, but thats notthe case. It takes an understanding of how users use a site, how the site is puttogether. Its not just people skills and scheduling skills. Another misconcep-tion might be that people think if you work in the Internet industry, you haveto work really long hours or you get paid huge amounts. I think that justdepends on the company. A lot of it depends upon what section of the industryand the general climate of the company.

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Looking back on your career or job search, what do you wish youwould have done differently?I would have spent more time really researching the market and finding outwhat companies are out there. I was pretty systematic, but I think I could havebeen even more systematic. I looked at a range of companies, but I wish Icould have looked at a little bit more within each range. I also would havedone more background checks on the companies.

How can someone get a job like yours?It depends upon who that someone is. I think that a lot of people go for a joblike mine by starting doing HTML, building Web pages, working as a produc-tion assistant. A lot of people start in editorial. There are also low-level projectmanager positions. Since theres so many start-ups, especially in San Francisco,theres a lot of companies looking for people to help do research and get cer-tain projects off the ground, and thats a good way to get in the door. For peo-ple looking to make a lateral move and change industries, certain skill sets aregoodworking with lots of different departments, project management skills,having particular expertise, such as having experience with membership devel-opment. You also really need to know the Web, know how it works, know whothe players in different areas arewho the content players are, who the e-com-merce players are, and why theyre important. Its also important to have a pas-sion for the work, but I think thats true of any job.


A Day in the Life of a Senior Producer

8:00 Its nice and quiet; I go through my e-mailtheres usually 25 or 30, but I suspect the number will increase. I keep a running list of projectsand add new projects into my list. Today, we have a freelancer coming in to do some production. Were building a new test interface; my job is to get him up to speed on what he needs to do.

9:00 My boss is going out of town next week, so we spend an hour going over what needs to happen this week and next week, and create a general schedule of what needs to get done this month.

10:00 Put together an analysis of design companies for a redesign of the site. I send out an e-mail to people I know who are interface experts, and then go to agencies I already know and put together a spec sheet with names of companies and recent projects, and explain why or why not theyd be good to do our redesign.

12:00 Lunch. Thai food with my boyfriend, who works downtown; once a week or so well meet for lunch.

1:00 I manage the production schedule on a two-week cycle for getting new content up live on the site. I need to make sure everybody has what they need to be able to get their piece of the job done in the next two weeks. I track what new content is coming down the pipeline. This involves building a big chart with all the pieces of content listed. Theres about 15 stages of production, and I create a list for everythingand make sure the sales people know what the content is so they can sell it and make sure the production artist knows what it is, so she can stay on top of the graphics.

4:00 Part of my responsibility is user testing. I look out for the users best interest and make sure the site is working for the user. I make sure the usability and structure is working. That plays a part in almost everything I do; Im always checking to make sure that when were develop-ing a plan for implementing automotive-related sales stuff, its going tomake sense from the users perspective.

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Software Engineer

Age: 24Years in business: 2Education: BA in Computer Science, San Jose StateHours per week: 45 to 50 hours, but its up and downsome weeks way more,some weeks less.Size of company: 260 peopleAnnual salary: $75,000 plus options

What do you do?Im a software engineer in a media company. At my previous company, we cre-ated software and sold it. Here we create software to help the writers anddesigners do their work better. I do some JavaScript on the website.

How did you get your job?Through a friend, someone my brother knew. I hadnt send out any resumesand I wasnt actively looking, but I was getting a little bored at my last job, so Iwas thinking about looking. Also I had to commute.

What are your career aspirations?I havent thought that far ahead. I dont think Im going to be programmingall my life, though. I dont think I can sit 13 hours a day staring at a computerall my life. I want to retire early and relax all day and pursue hobbies.

When I first got out of school, I thought I wanted to work in a research lab tomake things that could change the world. But its not that easy; you have to sitthrough a bunch of meetings and deal with management and people you dontlike. I think Ive gotten a little more disgruntled. Before I retire, though, Ithink Id like to own my own company rather than work for someone else.

What kinds of people do well in this business?Brilliant people. People who are truly intelligent. Dumb people can make italso. Theres a lot of factorsdumb luck, people skills. Ive met a lot of bril-liant people without any social skills, they may not make it. Competence is themain thing. Id rather work with somebody who I know will get the job doneand is fairly easy to get along with.


What do you really like about your job?When I work on projects, I get a sense of completion when Im done. I have ashort attention span, and I like to work on a lot of projects. Here were a fast-moving company and theres never a lack of projects.

What do you dislike?Right now, at the size my companys at (260 people), were kind of in a transi-tion phase. Were not small enough to be a start-up, but were not big enoughor [structured enough] to make our lives easy. Its grown by 100 people in fourmonths. Youve got more meetings, theres growing pains. It will get workedout, it just takes time. You cant yell across the cubicle the way you once could.

What is the biggest misconception about your job?People who dont know anything about programming think its really compli-cated. Not that it cant get complicated, but you can do things in an hour thatmakes somebodys life way easier. Really, though, its just a languageonce youspeak it, it lets you do things that, if you dont know how to speak, seem impos-sible.

Looking back on your career or job search, what do you wish youwould have done differently?I havent worked that long or searched that hard, but bargaining and negotiat-ing skills are useful. When you come to a company, youve got to try and geteverything you can up front, which I didnt always do. You have to look out foryourself.

How can someone get a job like yours?Study computer science in college and keep your ears open. Talk to people.

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A Day in the Life of a Software Engineer

9:30 I usually arrive between nine and ten. I check my voice mails and e-mails to make sure nothing has blown up. (Thats a joke.)

10:00 Begin working on my projects. So what I do is I sit in front of my computer and code. Once in a while theres a random meeting I have to go to.

11:00 If somebody put a video camera on you (when youre working in this job), theyd think youre really boring. But programming is like puttinga puzzle together. Its a language. If you dont know programming, its like you dont know Greek. If you know it, its like writing a story. But its not really a random story. Its like youre in school and someone says write about your summer vacation and make it dramatic.

12:00 Someone in marketing or your boss will tell you what they want the program to do. They want a picture to sing and dance, for instance, or a database to make something easily retrievable. You work within these guidelines to make it work. If you write a program, you know if it works. If it works, people can use it and hopefully it will make their lives easier.

12:30 Lunch wherever. 1:30 Hopefully youre not working on a project that gets cancelled once its

done. Specifications change, there are marketing reasons that lead to cancellations. Projects start and stop.

2:30 With programming, you get a project and you have a feeling of satisfaction when you finish it. Then you go home and the next day youstart a new project.

4:00 Sometimes Ive got to go around and talk to people to get the stuff I need to get my program donea database, whatever. Sometimes its the project managers job to get this stuff for you, other times you go and do it yourself.

6:00 You dont work as a lone island, you work with a bunch of other peopleand theyve got to get their stuff done too. Most of the projects Ive been in on, Ive done most of my own work. But programmers often work as a group to write on a piece of code. They need to agree on naming conventions and function calls (a programming language which is a way to retrieve information) to make sure it all fits together and you can read the code others create.


Director of Marketing

Age: 34Years in business: Three years at a pure play Internet company, three years at ahigh-tech company in the telecommunications industry.Education: BA in Economics, UC Irvine; MBA, CornellHours per week: Thats changed a lot. I used to work probably 65 to 70 hours aweek, and now I probably work 50 hours a week. Its gone down as the depart-ment has staffed up and weve gotten to be a bigger company; youre notunder as much pressure as when youre early-stage. Size of company: 200 people

Annual salary: It started low; I chose to take more equity. Now its $85,000 to$100,000 plus options. My counsel to anybody whos going to work for a start-up: you should not look for salary but try to get as many options as you can.Youre a venture capitalist at that point, and your portfolio is yourself. Youreinvesting in yourself. Your fund is a fund of one.

What do you do?My jobs changed a lot; early on I was doing everything from partnerships todistribution that would get us an online presence, and even working withadvertisers to leverage their channel presence. My real focus was anythingaround the branding and positioning of our site. I did the PR, advertising, andaffiliate program. More recently, Ive focused on consumer marketing. WhatIm in charge of is the brand: what is the brand and what is the identity? Imalso responsible for driving traffic to the siteacquisition. Finally we havethree advertising agencies I manage.

How did you get your job?I found my company through a colleague who was a seed investor. I joinedabout two weeks before the site launched. Theyd been working on it for aboutten months at that point. I led the marketing effort by myself; for the first sixmonths I did it by myself before I hired on PR and others. It was another sixmonths before I hired on a marketing manager.

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What are your career aspirations?I made a decision after business school that I wouldnt work at a company thatI wasnt interested in. Id rather work places where Im passionate about whatIm doing. I think Ill spend the rest of my life in small companies. When I joina company, Id like it to be under 100 people. I think Ill stay as long as itsinteresting. Ill do something on the marketing side, maybe international mar-keting, maybe business development. The model of my company is fairly trans-ferable to other vertical markets.

Being in a successful company with a four year vesting period, if you walk awayyoure leaving a lot on the table. I liked this job most when we were 60 peopleup until we were 100 people. Right now though Im learning a lot from the VPthey brought in, who was a classical packaged goods marketer.

What kinds of people do well in this business?People do well who can get things done, who can work well with other people,and who can work independently. Theyre good to work with, theyre peopleyou respect. You have a bunch of people who have different focuses from theirpast experiences, but you respect their view points. Theres a common respectfor your peers in a small company thats really important. You cant be a primadonna. You have to be really scrappy in how you work, you have to be smart,you have to work really hard, and you have to be really passionate.

What do you really like about your job?Its really feeling good about what Im doing and the skill set Im using. AtInternet companies people are creating these entirely new markets, and thatswhere the opportunity is. Always look for the biggest, fastest growth opportuni-ty, because thats where youre going to have the biggest growth potential.

The thing that makes me really excited about my job is both the product andwhat Im doing, but also the environment. We make decisions quickly andthings get done. Anytime a company gets big, youre in danger of losing someof that.

What do you dislike?It can be frustrating that you dont have the resources to do what you feel likeyou really need to do. The long hours can be frustrating and you make seriousfamily, health and fitness, and personal sacrifices. Id say theres a level ofuncertainty that some people can be uncomfortable with, but I really thrive onthat.


The hardest time is now. Weve never been under more pressure than now thatwere public and have shareholders looking over our shoulder. You start count-ing pennies again, like you did when you started out. In this sector, you needto make the profitVCs are a lot more forgiving than the shareholders are.

What is the biggest misconception about your job? One, that its rocket science. People often ask me, whats the silver bullet?They think theres some really complex quadratic equation for how to makethis work. Its really just being a smart marketer and applying yourself to a newmarket.

On a broader basis, as a brand builder, what Im doing is very transferable. Itsthe classic, reach the channel, build the brand, get the positioning right, havethe reach and frequency thats going to get to your audience, know who yourtarget audience is.

But then theres certain parts of my job that are very specific to this industry:how deals are structured, how to do a portal deal, and so onstuff you dontknow unless you work in the industry. Theres a subset of the larger skill setthat I guess is rocket science.

On the other hand, contrary to that, I think some people have the misconcep-tion that this is easy.

Looking back on your career or job search, what do you wish youwould have done differently?The thing that I did well is I did my homework on the company and thefounders and the people Id be working with, and I made a good decision.Know who youre getting in bed with. The thing I probably could have done abetter job at is negotiating; I think I could have negotiated a better deal.Knowing what I know now about how an early-stage start-up has trouble withstaffing, if youve got good skills, youre in a very strong negotiating position.

How can someone get a job like yours?I think the best thing to do is get out there and leverage your network. Readtrade magazines. I get headhunter calls all the time, and I havent found that avery effective way to find a job. Theres an exciting element to finding a com-pany on your own; its almost like coming across a gold nugget in a streamsomewhere when youre out hiking. If you want to go to a company thats liketen people, its probably not in any trade magazines; if you want to go to acompany with 60 people, you can find them in the trade magazines. If reallyearly-stage, its all about networking.

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A Day in the Life of a Director of Marketing

8:30 Im trying to think of a typical day. I typically come in between 8:30 and 9:00 in the morning and try to catch up on e-mails left over from the day before and clear up my voice mailI tend to get a lot of voice mail. A lot of people contact me about partnerships and that sort of thing. Many Internet companies are so e-mailbased, its like a leaky boat youre trying to catch up on all day long.

9:00 I might have a meeting with product management people to talk aboutsome feature for the site and how were working with marketing to improve converting people.

1:00 Meet with the ad agency to review a creative brief or look at some lay-outs for ads or review boards for a TV ad.

3:30 Return phone calls. 4:00 The time I have is pretty limited. I have three people who report to

me. I spend about 60 percent of my time reviewing stuff and talking to people, and 40 percent of my time doing stuff related to specific deliverables that I have, such as writing copy for something were goingto do in house or putting together a proposal to the company who bought us about how we might link our sites together.


Content ProductionManager

Name of industry: Internet/New MediaName: Fifi MelvilleJob title: Content Production ManagerAge: 29Years in Business: 2Education: BA in English/MFAHours per week: 50, 8:30 to 6:30Size of company: 50Certification: NoneAnnual salary: $45,000 plus stock options

What do you do?Basically, I enter new articles and new content into an editorial tool. I edit thearticles, I manage projects, I write specifications for projects, I manage a teamof three editors and ensure that we meet our deadlines, the workflow goessmoothly, and the other editors dont spend an excessive amount of time chit-chatting, which they like to do. I interact with the marketing team to makesure their needs are being met. Were kind of an e-commerce site that has con-tent; our content supports what we sell. We want to make sure our content sup-ports our merchandise. Even if the content is not directly aimed at sellingproducts, we want it to interest people in our target audience.

Most Internet sites that have articles have editorial tools to help us enter infor-mation, edit them, link them to appropriate places on the site, and to previewthem on an intranet that looks like our site. That content then gets pushed tothe live site. So were actually not working on the live site, which could causequality control problems; were working on a closed site that gets dumped tothe larger site.

How did you get your job?I was originally hired to do customer service. I was able to write sentences, sothey moved me to the editorial department. Ive been there a long time; Iknow where all of our content is. I know about all the information we have andall about our product, and thats enabled me to move forward in the company.

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What are your career aspirations?I enjoy what Im doing, but I think in the future Id be interested in becominga producer. Basically, I think producers within the Internet have a lot of influ-ence over how a website looks; they can conceive of and manage projects frombeginning to end; and they can influence the whole user experience in a waywriting copy doesnt. Aside from people who do marketing, I think theyre thereal decision-makers within the Internet. Theyre also relatively well compen-sated for their time.

What kinds of people do well in this business?People who can work very fast. Getting things done is a lot more importantthan quality, but if you cant get things done in a quality way, it really comesback to haunt you. Youve got to understand what youre doing and under-stand Internet timegetting things done very fast and independently. Youvegot to work with other people, but you cant look to other people for guidance.Youve got to intuit what they want and execute on that, because people arevery busy, things change very quickly, and projects are conceived and executedat a speed thats very unusual in the offline world.

What do you really like about your job?I like that Im writing things. I also like the part of my job where I influencethe decisions that are made.

What do you dislike?I dont necessarily like the nuts and bolts of content management. Im good atit, but once you figure out how to do it, its very similar from day-to-day.

What is the biggest misconception about this job?I think that some of the people at work think that the content managementtool works better than it does, and they think I can do things very quickly thatare perhaps more time consuming than they imagine. I dont think people atwork realize that I do know HTML very well. They tend to think that things getdone at the push of a button.

Looking back on your career and job search, what do you wish youhad done differently?I actually think that I was very lucky. I cant say that I would have done any-thing very differently. I went from a very entry-level job to a job with a lot ofresponsibility, managing other peoplemanaging people who have significant-ly more editorial experience than I do.


How can someone get a job like yours?If youre very determined right now, its not that hard to get a job in theInternet. Youve got to send out a good e-resume. If you want to be an editor,you really need to copyedit your resume. People really want to see a resumethats really nice. People want to see that you can write; Im not necessarilylooking for more Internet experience. Include links to stuff youve written onthe Internet. Follow up with people. If you do go to a job interview, seem reallyexcited about working at the place. Do your homework; know what theyredoing and learn about their focus.

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A Day in the Life of a Content Production Manager

8:30 Check e-mail, respond to e-mailprimarily work-related e-mail. Often people ask me questions about content; I answer their questions. Then I check in with the three people I work with and see what theyre up to, make sure theyre going to meet their deadlines; sometimes I shuf-fle them around to a new project.

9:30 I put articles into an HTML format; I know more HTML than others, so if something has tables, I generally do that. I do a lot of trouble- shooting that others cant do. I edit articles. We might have several articles on a page, and that page might be related to a certain topic. Say we have ten articles on bicycling, we only have six on the page. I might move some articles that are on the page around; I might put back articles that havent been on the site for awhile.

1:00 Generally I get a sandwich and eat it at my desk.1:30 Sometimes I have meetings. Marketing has a promotiontheyre

running banner ads about bicycling. They want to make sure we have new content on bicycling, and they want to make sure that if your article on bicycling talks about safety, theyre running ads about hel-mets. We might also discuss the target market, the pictures were associating with the articlethey might not want pictures of seniors, for instance. Basically we work out what the marketing and editorial content is going to look like, and what will best advance our companyspurpose. If I think marketing is going too far, I call them on it; but generally, we sell products that are good for people.

3:00 Work on our newsletter. Our newsletter is in HTML; we also do a plain text version for those who have a plain text e-mail reader. Basically, I write the introductory portion to the newsletter, then I find recent articles on our site that relate to my introduction, then I put links in the newsletter to those articles. We also have real content in the newsletterwe might have five tips on bicycle safety. We also have some sales informationwe emphasize products related to content as well as special offers.

6:00 Then I send out test copies of the newsletter to myself and do some QA [quality assurance] because often they dont look like theyre supposed to. Then I set the newsletter to be sent out to our entire database of subscribers at a certain timesay midnight.

7:00 Go home.


The WorkplaceOne of the great things about this industry is that it is

impossible to predict five years out.

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Lifestyle and HoursA typical Internet workday goes from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Or from 7 a.m. to 5p.m.. Or maybe even from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Okay, there is no typical workdayin this business, just as there is no typical business in this business. Some luckyentry-level employees might be able to count on a 40-hour workweek, but mostdot-com employees say they put in upwards of 50 to 60 hours per week. And,says one insider, Thats if you dont count hours spent worrying and thinkingabout the job when Im not actually there. The laptops, modems, and cellularphones that are ubiquitous among Net personnel only compound the dailygrind, turning weekends and vacations into productive work opportunities.

With impossible deadlines that can shift at any time during a project workcycle, its difficult for even the most conscientious Internet worker to planextracurricular activities. Of course, many insiders consider their work to bethe most exciting thing in their lives. Even some of the youngest companiesoffer outings, on-site gyms, interoffice competitions, regularly scheduled par-ties, or some such organized way to help workers let off some steam and regaina little sanity. Outside hobbies are encouraged, as is the personalization ofworkspace. (And were not just talking about Star Wars action figures on cubi-cle dividers.)

CultureWith all due respect to Dilbert, there is no one kind of Internet employee. Allkinds of people get into this business, says one insider. Along with program-mers and, yes, nerds, there are advertising and marketing people, writers, sales-people, and more. But certain cultural norms do prevail, whether were talk-ing about a four-person start-up with regularly scheduled water-balloon fightsor a thousand-employee multinational megasite. The quicksilver nature of thebusiness tends to attract sharp, forward-thinking individuals who enjoy the riskthe Internet poses. The heavy workload also encourages the smoothing over ofdifferences between employees and teams with competing interests. Petty griev-ances usually get pushed aside by a sincere were-all-in-this-together ethos.Besides, many Net workers will tell you they simply dont have the time to stabtheir colleagues in the backtheyve got a deadline.

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Workplace DiversityThe issue of high-tech workplace diversity is a hot one, and the Internet is,unfortunately, no exception. While its true that the Net has provided gainfulemployment for many unusual, free-spirited, tattooed, and pierced individualswho might not have found the chance to thrive in more traditional work envi-ronments, the face of the industry does appear to be overwhelmingly white.Jesse Jackson feels so strongly about the industrys racial inequality that heannounced in the spring of 1999 that he is investing $100,000 in Silicon Valleycompanies in hopes of participating in a form of shareholder activism. Manyindustry insiders think it will take more than consciousness-raising to integratethe Web, while others maintain that theres more diversity online than off.

The trouble, they say, starts at the higher levels, where the need to produceand produce quicklyleads to reliance on good old-fashioned American crony-ism. The cost of a wrong hire can be much more than in a traditional compa-ny, explains one insider. Instead of a project that needs to get done in a year,youve got three months. And its got to be great. By hiring friends and friendsof friends, you can take some of the risk out. Open up any industry magazineand nearly all of the faces staring out from the pages belong to white men.Which is not to suggest that minorities or women should shy away from careersin cyberspace. On the contrary. This is an industry for trailblazers, and manywomen, African Americans, and others have gone at the Net businesses withthe same DIY attitude with which their predecessors broke into corporateAmerica.

Its not very racially diverse, says a nonwhite woman at Internet company. Alot of people feel they dont fit in, or they dont feel welcome. However, thisindustry is good, because its based on skills. I dont think employers discrimi-nate on purpose, but people from diverse backgrounds often dont have thetechnical skills. Once they do, they can get good jobs. Others say that commu-nication can be a factor in the industryInternet employees speak a specificlanguage with plenty of buzzwords, and those not versed in that language canfind it hard to break in or understand whats going on once they start.


Opportunities for WomenOur insiders note that although there may be many representatives of thenerdy boy archetype left over from the early days of hacker culture, opportu-nities for women in the online world are there for the taking. All over theInternet, women work as programmers, product managers, HTML coders,directory managers, writers, editors, and artists. Some women even run theirown companies.

Though they may not get nearly the kind of press coverage lavished upon theirmale counterparts, by and large women on the Web do not report the kind ofovert discrimination their mothers did when they tried to enter previously maleprofessions like insurance adjusting, auto assembly, or construction. And dueto the highly collaborative nature of the business, men who cant deal withwomen in a professional manner wont get very far. Nevertheless, somewomens cultural conditioning may be holding them back, in that they are lesslikely than men to try for jobs for which they feel underqualified. The truth ofthe matter is that the industry is so new that nearly everyone is underqualifiedto perform his or her job in some way. A touch of a traditionally unfemininetrait like aggressiveness is often a wired womans best friend. Things change sofast, says one insider. If you dont beat someone to the punch with a newtopic or idea, you lose.

VacationEmployees are unlikely to see more than 12 to 15 official vacation days per cal-endar year. That figure does not take into account the potential comp timeworkers may be eligible for if they put in particularly long hours during alaunch, redesign, or business cycle. Some workers take their vacation time in alump, often adding additional days from their own pockets to achieve theirdreams of a Tibetan trek or a wine-and-biking tour of Tuscany. But most take aday here, a long weekend there to recharge their batteries, meet some newphysical challenge, or maybe even relax.

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CompensationCompensation for online positions varies widely depending on skills, companysize, industry, and location. Those working at dot-coms almost always havestock options as a significant part of their compensation. Many also receivebonuses. The following ranges are general guidelines for starting salaries.

Web Designer: $35,000 to $50,000Content Developer: $30,000 to $55,000Web Programmer: $45,000 to $95,000Web Production: $30,000 to $60,000Producer: $40,000 to $60,000Project Manager: $35,000 to $50,000Systems Administrator: $50,000 to $73,750Business Development Associate: $35,000 to $55,000

Source: WetFeet.com research and estimates.

Career PathAs of yet, there are no established career paths in the Internet. Most compa-nies and employees are figuring it out as they go along. You probably wont beable to predict where youll be five years out. Many in the industry have bigaspirationseither to start their own company or to gain more control overtheir companys strategic directionbut how and when these things will cometo pass is rarely set in stone.

The fact that the industry and most companies in it are growing like crazymeans youre unlikely to get stuck in the same job for any extended period oftime. This flexibility allows people to move up quickly. The industry is filledwith managers and VPs in their twenties who filled managerial vacancies creat-ed by the industrys warp-speed growth. One insider advises, Just get your footin the door at any Internet company. You can move up really fast in this indus-try because it is growing so fast.

Though many Internet job titles are arbitrary, most companies are divided up,and their departments have heads or directors. The rigidity of the food chainusually depends on the size of the enterprise. Of course, the staff of a three-person start-up is more likely to have overlapping responsibilities than the staffof a multinational megasite. An administrative assistant at a smaller company


might be known to the outside world as the vice president of operations. Andwith no clear career trajectory, todays entry-level assistant may very well betomorrows (literally, tomorrows) director of something or other.

Interestingly, many people say that the same things that brought them to theindustry may also lead them to leave it. Burnout, the ever-changing nature ofthe industry, and the desire for a more normal life are all mentioned by insid-ers as reasons they expect to be out of the business within the next five years.In five years, offers one Web designer, Id like to be great at something else.In three years, Id like to be leaving the field for another creative job. Addsanother very young insider working at a Web portal, I plan to let my stockoptions vest, so I can pay off my student loans, reinvest, travel, and then eithergo back to school, travel more, start a business, or find a company where I canwork from home.

Opportunities for Undergraduates Undergrads might start as interns, but theres plenty of room to grow. Manymore established Internet companies, such as Amazon.com, have created for-mal recruiting programs to target top undergraduates. Many people start inthe mailroom or customer service and, by proving themselves there, quicklymove to higher positions. Web companies are often pure meritocracies, and ifyou can prove yourself, your company will advance you on your career quick-lytheres no time to find somebody else to do it. Even if you have troublebreaking in, keep trying. As one insider puts it, it doesnt matter if theres anopening or not, just be persistent.

Opportunities for MBAs or Advanced Degree HoldersMBAs can find jobs at Web companies in finance, business development, prod-uct management, and marketing. Quite a few start companies, too. As theindustry matures, MBAs are finding more and more opportunities. This is par-ticularly true at newly public Internet companies that now must answer toinvestors.

Opportunities for Mid-Career CandidatesMid-career professionals can do well in the Internet industry in a variety ofpositions, though age sometimes works against them. That said, as the Internetmatures, experienced professionals are finding plenty of opportunities. Netcompanies need savvy managers at all levels. Those with experience in industrywill find increasing opportunities as companies mature.

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Insider Scoop:What Employees Really Like

The Future Is Ours. Its been unbelievably cool to see the industry evolve infront of my eyes the last few years, notes one senior manager who oversees e-commerce products for a major Web portal. But taking ones career to theInternet means not only being a part of the future of a dynamic business, butalso being a part of the future. There really is an information and commercialrevolution going on, explains another insider. Every day some entrepreneursits down and figures out how some current non-Web tasklike keeping trackof your daily calendar, or making brochure printing more efficientcan beimproved by bringing it onto the Web. To be able to quickly see how an indus-try or task can be turned upside down by the Web is incredibly compelling.Web workers get to decide how were all going to live, work, play, and commu-nicate in the future. And they think thats pretty exciting. One of the greatthings about this industry, confides yet another insider, is that it is impossibleto predict five years out; the most important thing is to help create the futureyourself.

Smart, Interesting People. Many insiders cite the intellectual stimulationthey get from their work and their colleagues as their favorite part of their job.Spending the day surrounded by smart, interesting, hardworking people isanother big benefit for graduates who worried that Pomp and Circumstancesignaled the end of their intellectual lives. Reports one insider, Because peo-ple in this industry are demographically kind of homogenous (age wise) but ofcompletely different backgrounds and skills, theres a lot of interesting dia-logue. For some Web workers, great colleagues can help mitigate long hoursand (sometimes) repetitive tasks. In addition to making life bearable for eachother at work, many Internet employees hang together outside the office.


Good Pay, Good Benefits. With some obvious exceptionsstart-ups thatcant pay their bills, faltering businesses that dont want to pay their billsmost insiders rate the pay and benefits at Internet companies as pretty high,certainly above average. To avoid the cost of high turnover, many companiesoffer generous health, vacation, and meal plans. Salaries depend on individualskills and demand, but most workers find that their work satisfaction, pay, andstock options or purchase plans compensate them well enough. Stock options,of course, are a bit risky; thousands of shares in a company that never earns adime dont represent a good investment. However, in todays overheated mar-ket, the potential financial rewards for even the lowliest stockholding employeeare enough to keep many Internet workers happy.

The Autonomy. The industry-wide tendency against handholding and micro-managing means that employees are often able to direct their own projects.And some Web-based companies are so small that they simply dont have thepersonnel to do everything by committee. Says one account executive, Im theonly salesperson east of the Mississippi and am helping to start an office inNew York City. It feels like its mine to win or lose (in actuality, it probably real-ly isnt) which is very rewarding. The pace of the business means that theresreally no time to run every decision or choice by a committee. Trust is key, andNet employees get to take creditand blamefor the choices they make. Ilike that you can own as much of the finished product as you want, explainsanother insider. Its really true that given enough time, one person can do itall.

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Insider Scoop: Watch Outs!

What Life? While insiders gush about how much they love what they do, manylament that they have trouble getting to do anything else. To a certain extent,most Internet companies have tried to compensate for the long hours andextreme dedication of their employees by organizing parties and staffing on-site fitness centers. But even the cushiest benefits package cannot fully makeup for the time invested in the 50-, 60-, and sometimes 70-hour workweeks thatare common in the industry. Even those who dont clock that much time saythey spend a great deal of their free time thinking, worrying, and absorbinginformation about the business. The long hours take their toll, and some insid-ers doubt whether theyll last for a couple more years, let alone the long haul.

Constant Change Equals Constant Stress. In most industries, lulls betweenbusy periods give companies time to strategize and workers time to recharge.But at many Internet businesses, the pressure never lets up. The constantchange does get stressful, even if you are used to it, explains one insider.Sometimes I just want to slow down a bit and do things right rather than fast.

The Web Is My Master. Although many Web workers acknowledge the cachetthat comes from being in the forefront of the technology revolution, manywonder if furthering the Internets pervasiveness is really an admirable careergoal. I often consider about how much e-commerce is really helping theworld, wonders one insider. A lot of Web-sters got into the field because theywere fascinated by the Internets potential for enhancing communication andhuman interaction. Industry flux has put many of those people in positions inwhich the technology has become an end in itself, rather than a tool.

The Autonomy. No man is an island, but sometimes I feel like a peninsula,says one young account executive who works alone out of his companys satel-lite office. When you fly by the seat of your pants, there isnt always room fortwo. Its true that a team-oriented culture rules most established companies.But many of those lucky and smart enough to land a challenging positionspend their days solo. This isolation can also extend to those who work as one-person departments within larger organizations.


Getting HiredMany insiders say you should get in somewhereanywhere

and then decide if its the best place for you.

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The Recruiting ProcessWhen embarking on a career in any field, its always helpful to be in the rightplace at the right time. For an inordinate number of Web workers, that defi-nitely holds true. Flexibility is key, and many insiders say you should get insomewhereanywhereand then decide if its the best place for you. If youfind youre not learning what you want or moving up as quickly as you thinkyou ought to, its extremely common and fairly easy to make a lateral move;you might find yourself performing the same functions but in an environmentthat suits you better. Such moves are not as frowned upon as in more tradition-al industries.

Do your homework and surf around to get an idea of what kind of companyyou want to work for. Is there a Net niche you want to fill? What kinds of pro-jects and products suit your interests? Some insiders suggest finding a companyyoure crazy about and contacting potential bosses directly. Read the papers tofind out which companies have recently gotten fundingthose companies arelikely to be spending a good portion of that money to add staff. Venture capitalfirms are another great resource for finding companies that are in hiringmode. Visit VC firms websites to find out what companies theyve invested in.Some of the sites even list job openings at the portfolio companies.

Keep in mind that Internet companies vary considerably depending on theirstage of growth. An established, public company like Yahoo is utterly differentfrom a four-month-old start-up. While an established player may provide moresecurity and structure, its likely to be more bureaucratic as well. A small start-up will provide little security, but may offer considerably more opportunity forgrowth, not to mention the chance to play a role in building a company fromscratch.

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Special Information for UndergradsMarketing assistants (and assistants of all kinds) are in very high demand, espe-cially if they can show a willingness and a talent for flexibility. Since there is apressing need in the industry for warm bodies with sharp minds, you can prettymuch write your own ticket, but you have to know how to make your own luckwhen it comes to finding the right company.

Some Internet companies may not hire recent college graduates because oftheir lack of experience. Most Internet companies lack formal training pro-grams and thus dont have time to train fresh-out-of college recruits.

Special Information for MBAs Individuals with business degrees can get involved in the Net through tradi-tional consultant means. I was working on a big childrens multimedia projectwhich totally blew up so I had to get another job. I had a couple of friendsfrom business school who worked at Excite and I convinced them into hiringme as a contractor. The contracting gig worked out nicely and I got hired on asa full-time employee. Business degrees are especially coveted for marketingand financial positions.

Note: Most business schools are restructuring their curriculums to meet thedemand for Internet-related business courses. Many now have business plancompetitions and serve as incubators for student entrepreneurs. When inter-viewing, play up any Internet-related courses you took or any entrepreneurialendeavors youve been involved with.

Special Information for Mid-Career CandidatesDont be surprised if a human resources department tells you youve got exact-ly what the position needsand then never contacts you again. Seeminglymore than any other industry, the Net is rife with job descriptions that changemidstream because companies change course that quickly. This is more likelyaffect with experienced candidates, who are competing for positions thatrequire more than a heartbeat.

Contract work is another good way for mid-career candidates to break into theindustry. Offer your services to a company on a project-by-project basis. Thiswill give you an opportunity to show what you can doand to see whether thecompany is a good fit.


Special Information for Technical CandidatesKnowledge of HTML and CGI is the bare minimum for programmers.Experience working with databases or writing in Perl is a big plus. Another lan-guage thats good for programmers to know well is English--unlike some oftheir counterparts in the software industry, most Web programmers work close-ly with nontechnical people. Finally, insiders tell us that examples of your workare far more powerful than anything else. If you havent done any Web work,spend a few hours writing a sample page using CGI and find some place to putit online before you go looking for a job in this field. You might also want toget a handle on XML (Extensible Markup Language). Depending on whichInternet expert you ask, XML will replace HTML as the gold standard some-time within the ne

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