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Web Maturation: The Death of the WebMonkey

I'm a WebMonkey. An HTML jock, a JavaScript code, a Photoshop pixel-pusher.

I can architect a front end so it is flexible, extensible, comprehensible (i.e. maintainable) and usually user-friendly.

I'm way past the point of being dangerous with my SQL/programming/backend knowledge; I can do a lot of it with alacrity.

At the same time, I'm an anachronism:

• I excel at HTML: So what? Who needs that anymore? GoLive, DreamWeaver MX, FrontPage etc. Hell, export/publish from MS Word. Will the code be ugly? Yes! Will it be slower? Yes? Will it matter? NO! - because the folks using these tools are not the Googles of the world, trying to carve a tenth of second off a load time. These are users who have/want a site and with few bells and whistles. I can't argue with that.


• I suck at Photoshop: OK, let's qualify. I'm better than 90 percent of the population with this omnipresent tool (90 percent don't use it...), I'm probably better than half the current Photoshop users: Hey, I've done magazine production and so on. I grok it. That said, I know that I can't design a killer site graphically. I don't have the real artist skillset. The built-in templates to a lot of these tools work fine for people (doubt that? look at all the MoveableType folks using essentially a built-in template for that tool!!). I can't argue with that.


• I've a broad range of skills: So what? Today you get hired, for the most part, for a very specific tool set. Perlscripts written to convert Oracle 8i data to flat XML files for Linux. ASP with SSL for financial firms. Etc. The broad range of skills is enormously helpful - especially to the hiring company - but it really does not play into the hiring process, let's say. They want to be able to slap someone into a chair and have them produce by the end of the week, at worst. A new employee's "extra" skills only come into play after the hiring process, for the most part. I can understand this to a large degree - sure, I'll be able to pick up D+++ (how do they/I know???). *sign*


• I can program in a wide range of scripting and compiled languages: The caveat here is that I have not done most during the job. I have done a lot of the work for jobs, but usually just to make widgits or whatever for the job that folks don't know (VB, Perl). Or I have done extensive work with some tools, but I can't really point to a visible project that showcases my efforts (VB, Perl:SOAP/XML, JSP, ASP, PHP, Postgres, mySQL, Linux/Linux admin, IIS admin, Netscape [iPlanet] admin, MS SQL stored procs, shell scripts, DHTML.....). My visible work - while the stuff I do currently do best (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, ColdFusion, some Perl) - is fairly small compared to what I can really point people to or is part of my offical job description (...shit...). So why should they believe or (if they are not jaded) investigate that which is difficult to see? And, sure, I've programmed applets/apps/EJB/JSP in Java. Want me doing it full time? I honestly don't know, to be honest.... so why should the employer? Again, I can't fault that....


• I don't lie.: Kill me now. Honesty is the poison of employment. On both sides, to differing degrees with differing employees/employers. Life goes on; get over it. Practice: Sure I can build a 12-D, browser-based, DNA-driven wormhole flight simulator in three weeks that is written in KlingonScript....and it'll be fast and sexy...


• I can do some stuff that's needed : Such as CSS (1&2); I understand HTML Strict vs. Transitional etc. XHTML. Big whoop. Who gives a rat's ass?
  

Anachronism reality: Big companies won't hire me because I don't have 10 years of experience with [fill in tool that has not been around for a decade]; small companies will flinch because they will be lookign for someone to do everything (IIS config, phones, installs, intranet, extranet etc) and I'll answer honestly saying that I've done some, haven't done others and [OOOPS! TOO LATE -- I said "haven't": I'm toast].

Oh well oh hell...

Webmonkeys of the World: Hmm. I've no good advice. No advice at all.