If you’ve always dreamed of working for a top web development company, you’re probably thinking of a very technically specific career. If your dream is to work in human resources or as an administrative assistant or custodian, you probably haven’t decided to only stick to technology companies as your potential employers. Let’s face it, no company can run for even a day without administrative assistants and custodians, so people interested in those necessary careers have abundant options. Working for a software development company, though? Your options will be limited, so you’d better be prepared. You have to know what you want and how to go about getting it.
Web Developers
Becoming a web developer is one of many careers you could choose in the technology field. The growth for this job is projected to be above that of other jobs for the foreseeable future because of the popularity of ecommerce, work from home jobs and the use of mobile devices to enhance our lives. As a web developer, you’ll need knowledge of both programming and graphic design in your job of designing and maintaining websites. You can get experience with both from high school, technical school or in college. The knowledge you have is more important than the source for that knowledge and many web developers begin their careers with a high school diploma.
There are three categories of web development. Choosing to specialize in just one doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a good idea of what the other two do, though. Back-end developers do the behind-the-scenes framework of each website. They’re the contractors on the site who handle the technical construction and make sure everything works the way it should. Front-end developers make everything eye-catching with layout, graphics and end-user tools. Webmasters troubleshoot, fix issues and update content once the site is live.
Your career is pretty portable, too. If your gig at the web development company doesn’t work out, you can go into business for yourself as an independent web developer. Larger corporations tend to like to keep their own in-house web developer as a full-time employee, so you could look to parlay your experience into the fields of business, publishing, marketing/advertising, healthcare or others.
Additional Skills
Web designers don’t just need technical coding skills. They also need an understanding of how to put together a website that will entice consumers to utilize the company for whom they’ve been hired to build the site. Graphic design skills come in handy for this. Many web developers pursue both computer-related and graphic design degree programs for undergraduate degrees.
Non-Tech Jobs
You can specialize in working for a web development company without necessarily having the skills to code in HTML, JavaScript or XML. You’ll still need a working knowledge of how websites work, how they’re created and how much time it takes to design them. You’ll need to understand the basics of the three kinds of web developers and who to contact if you have issues. As an advertising or marketing sales representative or manager for a web development company, you’ll need to know these things on top of the specific details of your own position. As a writer or an editor for a software development company, you’ll be responsible for writing and/or editing the written content on websites. Many companies want every page on their site to reflect their brand identity and they want one page in particular to give the background about their brand. As a writer or editor, you’ll be responsible for matching the company’s brand to the narrative you write for them.
Working for a web development company can be a lucrative career choice if you have the right skill set.
