Emerging Careers in Social Media: Become an Irresistible Hire in Data Analytics, Development, and Design
A “war for talent” in social media has arisen due to critical skill shortages, according to Dr. John Sullivan, labeled the “Michael Jordan of Hiring” by Fast Company magazine.
Are you a problem solver who never quits until the challenge is met? Can you deal with chaos and ambiguity, unleashing creativity on demand? Can you spot new and emerging trends, acquire the combination of skills that few people possess, and become “The Rare Find” described by author George Anders?
WEB/DATA ANALYTICS AND OPERATIONS
A data scientist, according to Fortune magazine writer Michal Lev-Ram, is “a new kind of highly skilled, nerdy-cool job.” It has been described as a combination of statistician, forensic scientist, hacker, engineer, and investigative journalist. According to an Amazon job description, a data scientist will “target the right product to the right customer at the right moment.”
Big Data staff analyze user behavior in unstructured data (e.g. web clicks, audio, video, blogs, forums, search terms) to make content appealing and profitable. They may also predict future behavior of users and their lifetime value. A statistical analyst uses survey research methodology, data mining and predictive analytics for development of new digital products and metrics. Similar positions include revenue research analyst and data engineer.
DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
The Matrix Group, in Arlington, Virginia, uses colorful descriptions for some of its job openings:
Mozart Meets MacGyver (Web Programmer/Developer)
.NET Rock Star (Web Developer/Application Developer)
Virtual Virtuoso (Web Interactive Designer)
Google lists a vacancy as Doodler (Product Graphic Designer/Illustrator).
The natural language processing (NLP) developer makes it possible for employees to read and understand user language in near-instant time. Mobile application developers specialize in Android, iPhone, iOS and BlackBerry devices. Tumblr lists an opening for a performance engineer “who likes to take things apart– and then put them back together with twice the efficiency and half the code.”
A user experience designer, interactive designer, or human factors engineer ensures that a website, mobile device, or computer game is easy to navigate, intuitive, and accessible to those with disabilities. Problems in user interface may be escalated to a sustaining engineering team. Tableau seeks applicants who “love mysteries and puzzles and want to be part of an elite bug-bashing team…”
Designers have become increasingly specialized. A data visualization designer uses infographics to help users easily understand data. The computer game industry offers positions such as iPhone game designer, associate sound designer, motion graphics designer, and augmented reality specialist.
HOW TO BECOME MARKETABLE IN SOCIAL MEDIA TECHNOLOGY
IT professionals need to constantly update their skills in the newest technology: Hadoop, Python, BASH, AWK, and more appear each day in job descriptions.
Data scientist jobs usually require an advanced degree with skills in areas such as computer science, (especially information analytics), marketing, applied mathematics, and behavioral economics. Entry level positions exist as a data cleaner or analyst. Take courses in computer or information science, such as data mining, machine learning, information retrieval, artificial intelligence, and data visualization.
Related to market research, a senior statistical analyst or data engineer usually requires a master’s degree in statistics, mathematics, operations research, or social sciences with strong quantitative skills.
Depending on the position, applicants for usability design jobs may need a degree in human computer interaction, cognitive or experimental psychology, applied anthropology, graphic design, computer science, information science, or human factors engineering.
A window of opportunity cracks open when the perfect applicant is nonexistent or is in critically short supply. Do you have what it takes to seize the moment in a ground-breaking field? Many people are self-taught or learn on-the-job through employers who hire for talent, aptitude, and passion for a field.
Do any experienced professionals have other suggestions of emerging careers in social media? Are there college students who want to know about firms that offer entry-level jobs or internships? Please comment or ask questions.
Watch for PART III: LINGUISTICS, LEGAL/SECURITY, AND SOCIAL RESEARCH CAREERS
Thought Leadership: New and Emerging Careers
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Phone: 919.361-0092
Sharon:
I’ve been reading your blog whenever I get the chance. I enjoy the detailed
material that you provide on new and emerging careers.
Peggy,
Thanks for the feedback. The next one will come out soon. Is there an industry or occupation you want to suggest after I finish with social media?
Sharon
Sharon: Here’s a great topic to dive head first into the deep end. What is the difference between a licensed (or registered) architect and an IT person who calls himself/herself an “architect?” It seems that my profession, i.e., design architecture, has been hijacked by the IT industry because they refer to their job positions as “infrastructure architect” or “data architect” or “network architect,” etc. They even have the gall to use “designer,” “engineer,” and “construction manager” or “contractor.” And what’s up with the fact that we cannot call ourselves “architects” if we are not licensed to “practice architecture” in a particular State? Help me to understand this dilema
Mark,yes, it seems that the IT industry uses a great deal of liberty in naming job titles. I have looked at the differences in the different types of “architects” in IT to understand them myself, but it can be confusing. Good catch.
Hi there,
Since I have some first-hand experience in this area, I thought I’d share. If this should go somewhere else, just let me know.
In my experience, the world of Online Advertising tends to have entry-level openings that can give people ground level experience, and from there, career acceleration can happen quite fast. The work in online advertising generally involves data analysis, and trend forecasting.
I, for one, started out at Google working on AdWords campaigns. My Journalism degree helped me land that position. They wanted to hire people who could write short blurbs to get a point across, and who could quickly learn the rest. From there, after a short deviation, I wound up at Vibrant Media, where I was hired as a “keyword optimizer.” I am simplifying this, but in that role, I developed advertising keyword lists, and optimized them to hook in relevant content based ads. The company grew fast, and I was moved into the role of “knowledge engineer,” and as our team grew, “senior knowledge engineer.” In this role I continued to work on keyword lists, but also to get involved in ad trafficking, product development, and broader scoped projects. After this, I worked in a keyword taxonomy role which involved developing systems to match ads to the language in content.
In these positions, when we hired new team members, we generally looked for people who had an interest in language, strong skills in Excel, an understanding of database queries, a background in statistics was considered a good thing, the aptitude to scrape through huge amounts of data to find gems, the ability to detect trends, a high threshold for boredom (sometimes you are starting at excel and sorting it for hours on end), and an interest in technology. Job postings might have mentioned coursework in topics like data mining, or degrees in library studies with a focus in information management, but the reality is that there weren’t that many applicants qualified, so we were more interested in finding people who could be trained. This blog is exactly right when it says, “A window of opportunity cracks open when the perfect applicant is nonexistent or is in critically short supply.”
Thanks for your additional insight. I want to increase awareness of the advantages to entering emerging careers.
Here’s a great infographic on salaries in some creative digital careers:
http://mashable.com/2012/06/17/digital-jobs-salaries/
I appreciate your encouragement. Actually, I coauthored The Parent’s Crash Course in Career Planning: Helping Your College Student Succeed.
The next blog post is on gamification and then sentiment analysis in social media.
Thanks for your feedback. The next one in the series is careers in gamification and “serious games” such as training and simulations.