7 Reasons Why Web Developers Should Learn Web Analytics
If you are a web developer and you speak English fluently you are probably not among the 10% unemployed in the United States. Demand for your skill set has been strong for a decade.
You may, however, be wondering what career path options you have. Allow us to make a suggestion: digital measurement.
What is digital measurement, you ask?
Digital measurement is one of the fastest growing professional communities in the world. It includes web analytics, testing/optimization, digital media analytics (display, search, social and mobile), Voice of Customer (VOC), digital surveys, etc. Essentially, these are the people that tell companies what their online customers are doing, what they want and how to effectively communicate with them.
According to Indeed, demand for digital measurement professionals has more than quadrupled since 2006.
If you want to follow digital measurement people on Twitter you can search for the #measure hash tag.
There is a spectrum of talent across the #measure ecosystem that goes:
We are the top recruiting firm for the digital measurement community. I can tell you from firsthand experience that we can never get enough Web Developers that know about web analytics.
What do “Technical Web Analysts” do?
They get digital measurement programs working:
- They write the Javascript on which these tools rely
- They integrate the tools with other data streams (BI, CRM, customer analytics data, sales data, customer service data, etc.)
- They set up the databases and data warehouses that accept data from all of these different sources and make the data usable.
- They set up reporting tools that enable the business to pull the data into reports and dashboards.
The companies that buy these expensive tools have a lot of pressure to show a return on their investments. They can’t do that without Technical Web Analysts that get them set up properly and continually modify them to satisfy changing business needs.
You would work with the analysts that interpret the data for the business and you will work with the business to interpret their needs into technical specifications.
Since we promised a Top 7 List, here you go… The Top 7 Reasons Web Developers Should Learn Web Analytics:
- Get closer to the business… closer to revenue.
- Look around. This is fast becoming a data driven world. This is not a fad… it is the direction of the corporate universe.
- You can stay technical (in fact you can build your tech skills) WHILE you learn digital measurement. It will give you a dangerous 1-2 punch in the career market.
- $$$. The salary scale for digital measurement professionals is steep.
- Open new career paths. There are only a few dozen Directors and VP’s of Web Development seats in the country. Learning digital measurement will give you additional paths up the corporate mountain.
- Community. Web developers are lone rangers. Digital measurement professionals enjoy a vibrant and supportive professional community. Come join us. Kumbayah.
- We’re geeks too! You will fit right in!
For more information about digital measurement as a career path you can check out the following resources:
The IQ Workforce Digital Measurement Career Center: www.iqworkforcecareercenter.com
The WAA Career Center: http://www.webanalyticsassociation.org/networking/
The Analysis Exchange: http://analysis-exchange.tumblr.com/
