E-Commerce Specialist Careers Information
How often do you hop online to order a pair of jeans, a bouquet of flowers, or a new song by your favorite artist? These days we can buy pretty much everything and anything online, and it’s all thanks in part to the work of electronic commerce specialists, or e-commerce specialist careers.
E-Commerce Specialist Careers & Degrees
Electronic commerce specialists work on behalf of a brands or companies to ensure efficiency in internet endeavors. Through the measuring of daily web traffic, e-commerce specialists are able to analyze sales data, and conduct online marketing initiatives like affiliate programs, paid ad placements, or email promotions targeted at key demographics.
Electronic commerce specialists are responsible for maximizing website exposure. They examine web analytics, and create initiatives to increase traffic and sales through search engine optimization, social media and online advertising like cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-impression (CPI).
Working with a team of professionals from marketing, sales, advertising, merchandising, and more, electronic commerce specialists must have excellent communication skills in order to successfully coordinate all internet strategies. Additionally, electronic commerce specialists are responsible for developing transactional web applications using web programming software and language, like HTML and XML.
E-Commerce Specialist Careers Path
A bachelor’s degree in communications or a computer-related field would be applicable for those looking to fill entry-level positions in electronic commerce. An associate’s degree and certification may be sufficient for some positions, and occasionally, related work experience may be substituted for formal education.
Bachelor’s degrees in computer-related fields can include computer science, information science, and management information systems (MIS). MIS programs a generally a part of many business schools, and will include courses in finance, marketing, accounting, and management in addition to computer-related courses such as systems security, database management, and system design.
Certifications for computer-related professions are offered by a variety of institutions and associations. Though certification is often not necessary, many employers regard them as the industry standard, and some employers may require employees to be certified.
E-Commerce Specialist Careers: Compatible Personality Traits
Analytical, detail-oriented, perceptive, helpful, multi-tasking. Great communications skills, and the ability to work both independently, and as part of a team.
E-Commerce Specialist Careers: Salary Expectations
E-Commerce specialists fall into the category of miscellaneous computer specialists, a field that held 195,890 jobs in 2009. The average annual income was $77,010. The middle 50 percent earned between $58,460 and $96,890. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $41,680, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $115,050.
E-Commerce Specialist Careers: Job Outlook
Employment of miscellaneous computer specialists is expected to increase by 13 percent over the 2008-2018 decade, creating 236,800 jobs due to growth and replacement needs.
Growth in computer network, systems, and database administrators should be great due to rapid advances in the IT industry, and will be most noticeable in industries such as data processing and hosting, software publishing, computer systems design, and technical consulting.
Slightly Off the Footpath
- Virtual Concierges
- User Experience Analysts
- Content Managers
- Business Continuity Specialists
Sources: online.onetcenter.org, bls.gov
