Monday, August 17, 2009

Web: White collar or Blue collar? An Observation

Yesterday, I attended a one-day Writing for the Web class. Mostly, I took the class for personal reasons; to improve my blogging and to be more effective at modifying my web sites.

The class was completely full - about 35 people. At the start of the class, we had to introduce ourselves and give a snapshot of why we were in the class. About 90% of the class were there to become web designers as a career track!

Does this make you wonder, as it does me, that the entire web world is becoming more of a blue collar profession? I now see job postings for web designers at about $18/hour. That is now on par with a CDL truck driver.

At one time, higher education meant less competition in jobs. And as a result, a higher earning level. We are beginning to see that these technical skills are now fundamental skills which most people need to possess. They are no longer what sets you apart from the pack but rather, what allows you to become part of the pack.