Careers

As you’ve learned from the text, the Internet/e-commerce economy continues to grow, and the prospects for employment in this rapidly expanding segment of the economy remain comparatively rosy. The Internet economy includes the sales of computers, servers, telecommunications, routers, and a myriad number of technological gadgets that make the Internet work, as well as e-commerce retail and services. In addition, the increase in e-commerce marketing and advertising is creating additional new employment opportunities for marketing and advertising specialists. Spending on online advertising and marketing is expected to exceed $110 billion in 2019. Add these numbers to the overall Internet economy and you will discover an employment market for a wide variety of skills from marketing to finance, information systems, and management.

With the Internet/e-commerce economy booming, the related job market is hot as well. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, Web developers, information security analysts, computer network architects, database administrators, software developers, and computer systems analysts are all occupations that are projected to grow over the next 10 years at faster than the average for all occupations.

For instance, demand for Web developers is expected to grow by 13% from 2016 to 2026, faster than the average for all occupations, driven by the growing popularity of e-commerce and mobile devices. Demand for information security analysts is also growing much faster than the average, at 28%, due to the increasing need to defend against cyberattacks. The federal government is expected to greatly increase its hiring in this area. The health care industry is also expected to have an increasing need for information security analysts. Demand for computer network architects is also increasing as firms expand their use of mobile networks, although it is possible that increasing adoption of cloud computing will reduce this demand somewhat. Demand for database administrators and related jobs (data mining engineers, data modelers, data warehouse experts and business intelligence developers), which is expected to grow by 11% from 2016 to 2026, is being driven by the fact that many companies are building teams focused on big data, and looking for candidates who possess business knowledge, technology and analytics skills.

According to Robert Half Technology, hot industries in 2019 include financial services, withneeds for expertise in big data, information and large-scale digital transformation initiatives; manufacturing, with needs for expertise in robotics, advanced data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT); software as a service (SaaS), with needs for expertise in a variety of cloud-related fields; and healthcare. Technology roles in demand include Web, software, and mobile app developers; business analysts and quality assurance professionals, systems engineers and systems administrators, and database administrators and business intelligence analysts. Technical skills in demand include Angular, Apache Spark, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain, C#, cloud and SaaS, Golang, Hadoop, Java, Javascript, machine learning, Microsoft SQL Server, .NET, PHP, Python, R, ReactJS and React Native, Ruby on Rails, SAS, Swift, virtual reality, and virtualization (Amazon Web Services, etc).

Expected salaries for Web developers in 2019 range from $83,500 for an entry-level developer to almost $170,000 for a senior Web developer with premiums of 5% to 10% for those who have various in-demand technical skills.

Hot areas in today’s e-commerce and Internet economies include mobile applications, security, and big data. As companies continue to expand their mobile initiatives, the need for employees who can develop mobile apps (already in high demand), will only increase. Security is also an increasing concern, with data security analysts, systems security administrators, network security engineers and information systems security managers all experiencing high demand for their skills.  Finally, the need for employees that can work with big data as data scientists, data modelers, and as data/business intelligence analysts, is also high and is expected to continue to grow. The greatest opportunities will be available to workers who have diverse technology skill sets and solid comprehension of business principles.

The following table provides a glimpse at some of the jobs being offered in the e-commerce and Internet job spheres, organized on the basis of average starting salary in 2019:

 

Job Title	Description	Average Salary
Web designer	Designs and builds back-end e-commerce system; designs and builds front-end e-commerce site; creates Web pages to meet customer needs and organization strategy; participates in project management, strategy development, budgeting, and analytics. Familiarity with HTML, XML, JSP, CSS, PHP, AJAX, and similar Web languages and platforms typically required, as well as knowledge of Adobe Web page and design software.	$73,500–$125,500
Webmaster/Web administrator	Responsible for Web site design, architecture, content management, and generating and monitoring traffic for optimization; interfaces with department heads to ensure that needs are being met; develops and supports Web site applications. Familiarity with Web services, TCP/IP, FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, LDAP and similar Internet protocols typically required.	$68,000–$126,500
Web developer	Designs and develops web-based applications; responsibilities include design analysis, coding, QA, creation of technical specs and end-user documentation, and integration of third-party tools. Use Web technologies and tools such as AJAX, ColdFusion, JavaScript, SOAP, HTML/DHTML, LAMP and others.	$83,500–$142,000
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) specialist	Defines EDI document specs; supports EDI project implementations and production systems; performs analysis, design, coding, and QA for EDI applications; administers and maintains data exchange logs.	$78,500–$119,750
Data security analyst	Performs security audits, risk assessments, and analysis; makes recommendations for enhancing data security, researches attempted breaches, formulates security policies and procedures.	$105,000–$178,250
E-commerce analyst	Uses financial and analytical background to track e-commerce business trends; monitors and manages success of new products and initiatives; uses data mining techniques to provide timely and accurate analyses.	$82,750–$140,000
Mobile Applications Developer	Builds mobile applications and mobile Web sites for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile/Windows Phone 7, Symbian using Java, Java EE, Java ME, JavaScript, JSON, Objective-C, .Net, and HTML.	$119,500–$204,500
Wireless Network Engineer	Research, design, implement, and optimize wireless networks. Requires background in wireless equipment, standards, protocols, and WLAN design; professional certifications such as Certified Wireless Network Professional (CWNP) also valuable.	$102,000–$173,500
Business Intelligence Analyst	Uses data analytics and network administrator experience to sift through multitudes of data and identify and explain trends in Web site traffic.	$85,750–$178,000
Big Data engineer	Requires strong knowledge of statistics and programming (Python, Java, NoSQL, etc.) to translate business objectives into data processing workflows. Typically interfaces with both business users and data scientists.	$127,250–$219,500
Senior e-commerce product manager	Defines, builds, drives, and manages the full life cycle of products; identifies market and customers; tracks industry trends and key product metrics; performs benchmark analysis.	$115,000–$155,000
E-commerce CFO	Typically desired by companies that are planning to go public; must be well-versed in the IPO process and skilled at raising revenue and building a brand	$170,000–$350,000
Director/Vice President, E-commerce	Develops e-commerce marketing strategies to drive revenue and increase sales; oversees creation of linked networks, databases, and business solutions; skilled at identifying trends; designs and directs online offers to increase revenue per site visit.	$175,000–$350,000

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook; Robert Half Corporation, The Robert Half 2019 Technology Salary Guide.