Here's a different way of looking at "it depends"... >From LA Craigslist Ad:
We are looking for a talented web designer...We offer a flexible schedule, $14 per hour... ... I never, ever see that $14 per hour number next to the word Architect. Or, show this to your ID's, and ask them if $14 per hour is what their skills are worth. The title is important to convey a) what we do, and b) market ourselves that what we do has some kind of worth. The investment analysts that, uh, ruined the world economy were able to market themselves as worth the money they were being paid. Seth Godin has a great take on this: http://tinyurl.com/cbp48a I don't know about you, but some of this title discussion and how we are perceived outside of our little corner of the world I think is very important. I migrated from the creative design field (I used to be in print) because a) I enjoy this line of work, b) I would hope to think I'm good at it, c) I enjoy bossing around web designers (KIDDING!), and d) the pay doesn't suck. It sure beats being a laid off journalist or print designer. We can all talk about how at the end of the day we're solving the world's problems, but in reality, we aren't. We aren't a doctor, or growing food. For most of us, we build things that have an impact on the bottom line of a company, and that's all (or since when did a web widget save someone's life?). We do it because we like it and it pays well as a perceived valuable service to our clients and companies. Having this discussion is important to protecting and encouraging this thought process. Within the community, it's okay to differentiate. However, outside of the community, we should be SOMETHING so we don't confuse the people that hire us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40619 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
