No longer a web hobbyist
You read it right: As of this week, I am no longer a web hobbyist. I'm going to have to stop all this blogging about the web and web design and web development, because my days of treating the web as a hobby are over. Done. Finished. I may as well close this blog down.
… but I won't. I'm keeping this blog open. I'm going to keep blogging, and believe it or not, I'm going to keep blogging about the very same topics… except I will no longer be writing as a web hobbyist… because as of this summer, I will begin my new life as a web professional.
It's funny to think that two years ago I was signing up for my first hosting space at Bravehost and tinkering with PHP and CSS for the very first time. It's also funny to think that a year ago I was telling myself that I would rather not pursue a career in the web industry because I didn't think I would be qualified enough and because I couldn't be certain that the industry as a whole would continue to thrive. Moreover, it's funny to think that at the beginning of this semester I was making the die-hard decision to pursue a job in the web industry and I was a bit worried since I was applying as a computer engineering major and I was getting into the job-search game a bit late. That's all in the past now.
As of June 3rd of this year, I will be working for a startup company with a group of Cornell students over in Sunnyvale, California. I will be serving as the lead designer, CSS developer, and general front-end development and usability kind of guy. This stint will last until the 31st of July, just before my 22nd birthday. Following that, I will be starting my career with a full-time job on August 13 in Fairfax, Virginia with a small company called WebFinance. My position is officially called "Web Content Manager," which means I'll be doing a lot more front-end development (the stuff I love!) plus some strategizing and optimization work too. After that… who knows? I'm a web professional now! I'm legit! There's a decent chance that people will start taking me more seriously now… who knows, maybe this blog of mine will become more popular. We'll see how things go.
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I like the name/description of your position: Web Content Manager. That's the human version of a CMS then, right?
Congratulations and good luck in you endeavors!
That sounds great, congratulations. I start the 21st with a local IT company where I'll be mostly responsible for content and web-based tutorials. I have to say, it feels good to be in a cool job, doesn't it? Good luck!
Ha Michael, that's definitely how it sounds, but no. Content manager basically means that I'm in charge of the front-end programming that affects the content users see, as opposed to back-end programming that the users don't see.
Congrats, G/L, and most of all, have fun doing it (paychecks obviously won't hurt)!
Congrats! Welcome to the industry!
That is excellent news. Congratulations!
congrats !
Thanks for the congrats everyone!
Nils: it sure does! It's exactly what I was holding out for.
Getting paid for what you enjoy doing is what everyone dreams of. Good luck.
Congratulations! and lot's of luck
Does this mean you gotta move, or work from home?
Johan: I gotta move. These are real, in the office, meet-with-your-coworkers types of positions. And that's O.K. with me, since I don't have very fond memories of Miami.
BIg congratulations from over here.
Congrats Montoya! It has been a joy reading your blog. Ironic too because I just got a " Front End Web Developer " job as well. And am neighbors, Alexandria, Virginia here. Sweet.
I didn't realise that working in a web related job made me a professional…. neato!
Congratulations on the new job(s)
congratulations!
go get 'em, they have no idea what's coming
Welcome Montoya in the web professionals' family! We need new and new Christian web designers who'll do all for His glory!
Blessings,
Respiro
http://www.RespiroMedia.com
Hi Christian, if I were you, I would request a title change. I don't know anyone else who is a "Web Content Manager." And since you're doing frontend web development, it may be a little more appropriate to referred as a Web Developer, or even a Frontend Engineer.
A content manager is simply someone who stores, edits, or deletes content. They "manage it." That definitely doesn't sound like what you'lll be doing… unless it is?
Dustin: You are right, it's not really what the job entails. I'll have to see if the job deserves a better title after I've worked there for a while.
That's wonderful news! Congratulations to you.
It sounds like you're a lot surer of where life is taking you than you were last year, which is great.
I'm sure you'll work hard and do well with the startup company!
Montoya, could you share with us how you get new and new projects? By your web site or by off-line advertising?
Respiro: If you mean freelance work, it's through my websites. If you mean the startup project for the summer, I was referred by a friend on the project. If you mean my new full-time job, that was through Cornell's network on Monster.com.
Yes, I meant the freelance works…