| April 2006 |
| By Nathan G. Jensen |
Web Developers have the most exciting and challenging job in the world. As a web developer, you are one of the architects of the World Wide Web—a builder of the Internet that runs the modern world. You get to work with a diverse range of technologies and languages, while being on the bleeding edge of a constantly-changing field. You can wear many hats in a days work: visionary, analyst, debugger, problem-solver, programmer, DBA, scripter, and IT heavy lifter.
Do you have what it takes?
If you’re a one-trick pony and want to find a single programming language or platform to become comfortable in and never venture outside, web development is not for you. However, if you’re unintimidated by the prospect of mastering a dozen different languages, tools and platforms, then fasten your seatbelt and prepare for the ride of your life.
You gotta have the skills
A successful web developer must achieve mastery in the following areas:
- A server-side “web” programming language, such as asp.net, PHP or JSP
- A database platform such as SQL Server, Oracle or MySQL
- A client-side browser-centric scripting language (JavaScript is the godfather)
- All the intimate details of browsers, how they work, and how they’re configured
- A web server, such as Apache or IIS
- A server-level operating system, such as Linux or Windows Server
- Understanding how all these technologies fit together, so that you can successfully mastermind web-based solutions
If you’re just considering entering this industry and feel intimidated by all the technologies you’ll need to master, relax. Everybody starts at the beginning. I began in 1994 experimenting with simple HTML pages. If you have the passion, the learning will come.
Adventures of a typical work week
During an average work week, I find myself writing code and fixing bugs in ASP, ASP.NET, C#, VBScript, DHTML, JavaScript, SQL Server, Visual Basic and Windows Script Host. I configure web servers, browser settings, and operating system configurations. I talk to customers, other programmers, testers, sales people, product managers, and system administrators. I research newer and better ways to solve technical problems. With so much variety, it’s impossible to get bored!
Not a perfect world
Lest you think I’m a sunshine-pumping propaganda machine, it’s time to tell you about the dirty secrets. You will have your share of hair-pulling, nail-biting experiences. You’ll find a bug in the browser that you can’t do anything about. Your production web server will crash inexplicably and everybody will look at you as if you broke it. Colleagues will cast disparagements about code you wrote or systems you built. A coworker that you rely on heavily will suddenly quit. And don’t forget about company politics. Just when you find yourself comfortably holding all the technical pieces together, some new decision, policy or mandate will blindside you and make you wonder if it’s really worth it.
And just when you think you’ve got a handle on everything, the languages and platforms you’ve become comfortable with change out from under you. Languages evolve or become obsolete. Software tools upgrade. Web servers, browsers and operating systems change, becoming more powerful and more complex. So amidst the day-to-day work, you’ve got to stay current with evolving technologies or you’ll find yourself obsolete faster than you can say “COM”.
You’re the man (or woman)!
As a Web Developer, like many professions in IT, you are an Important Person at your company. Especially when there’s a mission-critical application that nobody knows as well as you—and everybody realizes the value of keeping you happy. In a previous life I was a Project Administrator, and I always felt replaceable. Somebody else could have been trained to take my spot in a day or two, and I would have been forgotten a week later. “What was the name of that guy that used to work here…?” Don’t get me wrong, everybody can be replaced. But a skilled and hard-working Web Developer who builds or maintains critical applications will usually feel valued—and as secure as a tenured professor.
The thrill of it all
The reason I love this work—and the reason you may too—is because I get to solve interesting challenges every day, work with cool technologies, and occasionally impress people with my work. I get satisfaction in seeing applications I build create revenue, cut costs, scare competitors, lift my company, benefit customers, and fuel the economy. Most of the time you go home feeling pretty good about what you did that day. Many professions can’t say that.
Nathan Jensen is a lead developer of ProjectDox at Informative Graphics Corp.
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