College Web Guy

I’m a negative person. Brimming with pessimism. A cynic. The undesirable stuff always comes in focus for me before anything else, and unfortunately that attitude is enforced by the way I’ve trained my brain as a web designer. On first glance I identify objects that are ugly, broken, or sub-standard …and I axe them, fix them, compensate for them.

Two years ago, upon being hired as a web designer/developer at a public university, it didn’t take too long for me to pick out the undesirable aspects of this job. But the truth is, the positives of this gig massively outweigh the negatives. And, well, over the past few weeks I’ve attempted to compile an exhaustive list of those positives. So here they are, in no particular order:

Ten reasons why my university job is better than your corporate job:

1. Relative Job Security
Let’s face it: the odds of being “downsized” or laid off …are slim to none. Especially if you’re employed at a state university, college jobs tend to have the unique characteristic of being sheltered from the ups and downs of the economy, and this works out well for people who want to settle into a place and grow roots. I’ve worked at smaller agencies wherein the financial whims of a few major clients contributed to a revolving door of employment and an atmosphere of uncertainty. Short of a major catastrophe, my job will always be here, unless of course I get fired. And only a worthless degenerate could get fired from a state institution. It takes effort my friends. Effort. Think theft. Think violent assault on a co-worker. Think …well, um, there ARE no other ways to lose your university job that don’t involve seemingly endless stages of progressive discipline, each requiring tedious documentation. In other words, you keep your job unless you make dedicated and continuous efforts to lose it.

2. The Gym
We’ve got a great gym. Staying physically active and/or somewhat fit in spite of being a full time web nerd / code jockey is very possible when an indoor track facility, olympic sized pool, basketball court, and weight room are all located in our student center 50 yards from my office. Corporate drones can only dream of my lunch hour, often spent fooling around on a high-dive or challenging some old math professor to a duel of ping pong.

3. The Library
At my previous corporate job(s), there were endless occasions when I could’ve benefited from books, magazines, or other resources, that were not only outside the bounds of my cube farm, but across town. Universities allocate inordinate amounts of money to maintain library holdings and purchase periodicals, books, and other library goodness. And these resources are generally underused. Not by me, of course. One among dozens of reasons to value a good university library, is that makes for a great 20 minute escape. If I’m stuck in a design rut, or just mentally stressed and need to get away from my office/telephone/computer, I can often come back refreshed and refocused following a little excursion to the library. I can check out free audio books for the drive home, catch up on trade magazines that I’m too cheap to personally subscribe to, or generally just sit on a cushy couch and gaze in wonderment at those mysterious reference librarians, who seem to have made a career out of busying themselves on the internet and occasionally interacting with library patrons. “Oh, you look like you’re trying to find something. Can I help you?” ….. “Yes, the bathroom is around the corner, on your left.”

4. Interesting and Rewarding Projects to Be Had
Designers and developers it seems, are always in demand. And I’m in a position to aid and assist departments across campus in a wide variety of initiatives. My days are a great deal more interesting than they were at my corporate job. Working for a university is pretty much one step down from working at a great non-profit. I get to interface with people working on cool things and interesting projects, ranging from research, to community outreach, to the sciences, the arts, etc, …and this makes for better opportunities to do good work, as I always seem to focus and perform at higher levels on projects that interest me. Not to mention, projects that aren’t solely focused on selling stuff, as per my previous employment.

5. Tuition Discounts
I can’t speak for all universities, but, outside of paying for books and student fees, attending college is almost free for me, if at some point I want to get a masters or doctorate degree, or if I just want to take a photography class or advanced calculus course for kicks. Family members typically receive a measurable discount as well. University employees can enroll in a set amount of credit hours per semester.

6. Vacation / Time Off
For every month worked, I earn 8 hours of sick leave and 15 hours of vacation time. I don’t take many days off, and in less than two years I’ve accrued 21 vacation days and 8 sick days, ready for the taking. But that’s not the best part. All those holidays and observances that kids get out of school for, yeah, university employees get most of those days off too.

7. Commitment to Web Standards and Accessibility
I can’t say the same for my previous employers, but I’m glad to work on web projects where the priorities of standards and accessibility compliance are never shoved aside in the name of expedience. Being an educational institution, and state-funded one at that, …well, it’s the law. All services must meet the needs of people with disabilities. Period. This runs the gamut from wheelchair ramps to screen readers, and it is a major focus and priority for everything that comes across my desk. Some web developers get a sick, twisted pleasure out of doing things right. A university is a nurturing environment for those kinds of people.

8. Work Week = 40 Hours
Occasionally, you’ll find a web developer who’s managed to scrape together a life OUTSIDE of work. And this calls for time commitments at night, and on the weekends. I work hard at what I do, and I often work on things at home. Very often, in fact. But I don’t have to. University jobs don’t usually call for the gratuitous overtime, weekend work, or all-nighters. Web jobs in ad-agencies, marketing firms, or corporations: they do.

9. Health Insurance / Benefits
To attract good faculty, universities usually maintain great a benefits package for employees. We’re talking solid health insurance, and a generous 401K. This is standard issue at your typical corporate job. And it’s usually on par, or better at a university.

10. Campus Community
You’ll find very interesting people on college campuses. Occasionally I wonder how some of those people would fare outside of academia, in the real world.     I could go on to describe the kinds of personalities attracted to careers at universities, but I won’t. Just know that it’s very interesting to work among them.

Am I leaving anything out?