Getting Strategic with your career

If house prices had fallen by 36% compared with 10 years ago, it would be a national crisis. But that is exactly what has happened the pay for web developers in London.

According to the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), after some rapid growth at the end of the 1990s, a Java contractor’s hourly rate was £60 ($90) an hour 10 years ago. However, today that has dropped to between £40 ($60) and £45 ($68) per hour. Although more than the average salary, anyone who enjoyed 'the hot years', is bound to regret the changes.

Of course, it would be surprising if the same individuals who earned $90 an hour in 2000 are happy to accept $45 an hour in 2010. This would be especially surprising when you compare this 36% *drop* in salary for these people, against the 96% *rise* in the cost of finding somewhere to live. However, those *joining* the Java Development industry today aren't having to cope with the shock of the financial changes associated with an increasingly comoditised industry.


So not only has the hourly rate of the Java contractor fallen in actual terms, it has plummeted in real terms. The job market has become so complex now, that people have to actively manage their careers like never before. But how could a Java Developer in the year 2000, have predicted the changes outlined about? More importantly, how could they have protected their lifestyle in spite of these changes. As you can imagine, many couldn't.


At the start of the century, I worked full-time for one of the top Swiss merchant banks. We would lend massive sums of money to organisations, involving either organic corporate expansion or aggressively taking over competitors. My role as an Employee Benefits Strategist, involved protecting the bank's investments through helping our clients retain the
right staff, whilst assisting the remainder to map out a new career.

This involved sharing my strategic outlook for the future, to warn everyone from staying in a position with a downward income spiral like the Java Developer. Moreover, as someone who is qualified and authourised by the CBI (Confederation of British Industry), I helped people to ease into the hot markets of the future. This was usually managed through acquiring the right skills that were beginning to be in demand.


One of these 'hot markets' (just like Java Development in 1990), was the rising star of User Experience (UX). However, *unlike* Java Development, I feel that the UX industry *still* has bags of potential. Of course, like everything in the
post-indutrialised world, it requires more strategic thinking than ever before.


In fact, the need for User Experience is evolving into a serious profession. It has moved from (1) a nice-to-have USP (Unique Selling Point) through (2) a must-have Hygiene Factor, to something else which is about to unfold. This I believe will be that User Experience must be (3) an integral part of both the product design and business strategy from the start.

It’s said that if you can see a ‘gravy train’ it’s too late to get on board; well it's your lucky day I’ve got my ear to the tracks. So if you're looking to transform your UX role, there’s still time – just.

Jimmy Morgan

Feel free to get in touch if you would like some free advice on the subject.
jimmy.morgan@humanfactors.com+44 20 77 66 88 53 82
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Print source:

Evening Standard
- 29 Apr 2010

London Evening
Standard (West End Final B)


Industry sources:

http://www.home.co.uk/guides/house_prices_report.htm?location=londo...

http://www.fido.com.au/


Image sources:

http://www.sorabji.net/1999/december/31/31.jpg

http://www.mintec.ltd.uk/pages/commodities

http://photobucket.com/redirect?url=http://i88.photobucket.com/albu...

http://images.travelpod.com/users/lraleigh/youarehere..1153902600.i...