InformationWeek

1997 Network Managers Salary Survey

The Webmaster Way: Rise Through IT Ranks

Harvard Pilgrim's Kraszewski went from tech writer to Web developer.

Just who are those glamorous Webmasters we hear so much about? They're not very glamorous, actually. In most companies those who absorb Web responsibilities are usually network managers and IT professionals. In fact, only 1.4 percent of the respondents in our survey said they hold the official title of Web developer or Webmaster--though they have those responsibilities. Growing Their Own In mainstream vertical industries--health care, retail, manufacturing and financial services--Web gurus most often come through the ranks on inside IT tracks, learning as they go. Only high-tech companies, Internet start-ups and publishing companies seem to hire professional Webmasters from the outside. And while most Webmasters are young, they're not necessarily as green as the twentysomethings that once populated Silicon Valley. Wesley Kraszewski, Web developer at Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare in Quincy, Mass., is typical.

Thirty-eight-year-old Kraszewski was on the IT team at the HMO for six years as a technical writer before he got wind of a Web site project brewing. His strongest asset for the Webmaster job was interest.

"I approached the project leader in my IS department and asked to be a part of it," says Kraszewski. "That's all it took--good timing, I suppose."

Kraszewski's employers met his request to become a Web developer with enthusiasm. And why not? He was an ideal candidate: an insider with proven communication and content development skills who was perfectly willing to take on more duties without extra pay.

The HMO--which has roughly 300 IT staffers on its 4,000- to 5,000-person staff--had no idea how its Web project would take shape, or how the HMO's customers would respond.

"When we started, all we knew is that we wanted to give health care consumers better information," says Kraszewski. "But they didn't want to start hiring or pouring a lot of money into the project since it was just an experiment." Harvard Pilgrim only spent about $10,000 up front for software, he says.

That was nearly two years ago. Now, Kraszewski is deeply involved with the Web project. He really didn't expect more money or a bonus. "After a few months I was allowed to dump the tech writing work I was doing," he says. "And recently, my review showed me taking initiative and demonstrating good follow-through on projects."

Lagging Salaries

That review, not his title change, resulted in an increase that brought his salary to $65,000, less than that of the average IT or network manager.

But money issues aside, Kraszewski says the switch has created a lot of opportunity to advance his career in general. "Hey, I even made up my own title--Web developer--when we started the project," says Kraszewski. "No one seemed to care. And now, I have a whole new career. I think of myself as an interactive content developer, not a technical writer." And after attending several classes--in SQL server, Visual Basic and Java programming--Kraszewski says he has a whole new level of marketability.

Who knows what his title will be next year?

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