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E-Com Careers
Everyone’s talking about business on the Net. E-com courses are springing up everywhere. Should you go for one? What is an e-career like? Here’s what you need to know about these courses, and answers to the questions you should ask
Welcome to the era of e-commerce. To put it simply, e-com is about doing business on the Net. Where all it takes is a click of your mouse and a flick of your finger and you’re on your way to being the proud owner of anything under the sun.
Despite your best efforts, it’s quite difficult to avoid a brush with this new e-normity, if not a head-on collision. What with dot-com ads peeking out of the most unexpected places, large newsclips being devoted to it, and the huge valuations of Web companies in stockmarkets, it would be a cold day in hell when the ‘e’ word wouldn’t crop up.
Has all this made you curious about e-com? Maybe even curious enough to want to take it up as a career? Probably join one of those several courses that have mushroomed everywhere? But before you walk down that road, do figure out what this online business is all about. After all, you owe it to yourself and to whoever is going to be footing the hefty course fees.
Why are we seeing such a sudden interest in e-com?
There are several reasons for this. First, the market for a Web-based business is not bound by any geographical constraints. Then the transaction costs go down tremendously in a well set up site. The company saves on the costs of the people needed to interact with the customers, demonstrate the wares time and again, and take orders. All this gets automated, online.
Then the better, more inviting, convenient and comprehensive presentation of goods is conducive to greater sales. For instance, if you are at Amazon, you can take a look at what other people who ordered a particular book also purchased.
Facilities such as being able to compare costs of several stores at the same time, keep a tab on your selections, the flexibility of being able to add, delete, and even come back later to carry on choosing (instead of closing the deal in one online session itself) are quite convenient.
Another plus point is the way the Web business can be integrated into the regular business cycle and give customers more information than ever before. For instance, customers at Dell can see exactly at what stage their order is, at any given point of time.
Improved customer interaction, at practically no cost to the company, is also a big asset. Keeping clients happy has suddenly become much more economical for the companies through their Websites. Which means that eventually the benefits of saved costs will be passed on to the customers lowering costs at the other end of the connection, too.
Finally, there’s business to business or ‘B2B’ e-commerce when companies buy from each other. For instance, a garment wholesaler may sell to a chain of retail shops, or Maruti may shop around for thousands of car parts from suppliers. This, too, happens online today, and such ‘B2B’ e-com is projected to cross $1 trillion annually, in the next three years ten times the business-to-consumer or ‘B2C’ market that you and I interact with. In the 2000s, it will be critical to understand this area, since almost any business you are in is likely to encounter such e-commerce.
All this is being gradually recognized by the Indian companies as well. And now we have a lot of them setting up base on the Internet. But because of the current lack of infrastructure, security, cyber laws, and comparative unawareness or low comfort levels of customers (for now), the real impact and benefits of e-com will take a couple of years to show up. This is a revolution of sorts that is just about starting to happen. We’ll have to wait and watch for the fish to bite the bait.
But that’s not stopping e-com institutes from roping in students like there’s no tomorrow. All of a sudden, this interest in e-com is taking over the imagination of thousands of aspirants. Are you one of them raring to grab your share of the pie? And why not, every other person or company you hear of has joined the jig, and is making it big. Or are they? Well, we have two years at least, before we’ll be able to figure that one out.
What are your choices?
Getting back to you the possible candidate for an e-com course. What are the choices and specializations available to you?
Most e-com courses cover the following:
Basics: From how to start the computer, to browsing, searching, ordering online, Windows concepts, and the history of the Internet.
Design and multimedia: Photoshop, audio and video images, file formats, image types, designing and layout, 3-D animation, text animation, Shockwave, Website development, etc.
Programming: Java, HTML, Corba, CGI, OOPS and more.
Web and network related: SQL server, installing and configuring servers, managing queries, Internet and intranet applications, Website security, etc.
E-com: Business basics, budgeting, costing, demographics, advertising, cyber laws, developments of the Internet, opportunities, hurdles and more.
If you are not interested in the complete package, find out if you can take up only selective modules of the course. For instance a graphic designer could obviously skip Photoshop. Or someone interested in the business side could just attend the e-com basics. In case you want to learn a specific language like Java, then it would make more sense to go for a Java course instead of an e-com one.
Do be aware that a career in e-commerce isn’t just about sitting in front of a screen, and designing and putting up Websites. You could branch off into any of the sub-fields. Some of these are very technical and others require a mix of techno-creative skills. And you needn’t even join some course for a few of these options.
E-com is less about technology, and more about business. Learning Java or networking doesn’t make you an e-com hotshot. However, it helps to be aware of the technologies, their capabilities, and their limitations.
In any business, there are several niche areas. Which means, a jack of all trades won’t do there. Let’s assume, you are a biz-whiz. But can’t, for the life of you, figure out the J of Java. No problem. Ideas and a good business sense could mean, you end up recruiting some programmers and designers to bring to life that moneymaking idea of yours.
Or maybe you are this statistics stuntman. Here’s your chance to apply your special skills in this new field. Collect and analyze the business data for the aspiring or existing e-com ventures. Writers and non-design, creative people aren’t left out in the cold either. If you have the ideas, and the talent of putting your words where the company’s money is, you can still be a part of the e-com brigade creating, organizing, publishing and managing the site content.
Thus, knowing the technology is fine, but that alone won’t get you started in e-commerce. What will work is a thorough knowledge of the business itself. And if you already have a business, you could ‘dot com’ it to keep up with the changing times and needs.
What you can do after a course is train with some organization, preferably an e-com one, to pick up the business basics. Or join up with someone who has the required business idea and acumen.
Should you go for it?
Now is the time for some introspection. Are you opting for a course because you feel it’s what everyone is talking about? Just like the way all mom-dads wanted their kids to be engineers and doctors a few years ago. Or perhaps the glitz and glamour of this buzzword has tempted you to rake in your share of the moolah? After all, a phrase which has the ‘e’ word and the ‘c’ word can only mean one thing the sweet sound of cash registers ringing.
This is where you have to pause and think carefully. E-com is, in all probability, the course of things to come. But is it right for you? Do you really have an inclination and aptitude towards it? For that matter do you know what it really means?
If the answer to those is at least a sort of yes, then the going’s not so bad. You need to possess a certain creativity and ingenuity for this career. Some techie aptitude would also help. And finally, top it up with good business sense.
What are the qualifications needed?
At least a 10+2. That’s what most of the institutes ask for. For most of the general ones, you don’t need more than just a basic working knowledge of computers. Though they do teach you the basics before you head for the big time bytes. But some of the more advanced modules require you to be a graduate or have prior knowledge of a programming language or Website development. Though there’s nothing stopping you from taking the plunge, even if you aren’t quite ‘qualified’ as yet. Formal education and qualifications (or rather, the lack of them) should not be a deterrent. It’s got more to do with your aptitude and interest, and several institutes are flexible about their criteria if you are a deserving candidate.
Who will employ these people?
Just about anyone who will be, or is conducting some sort of online business. Ranging from Web-hosting service providers, to ISPs, and even the companies themselves (the ones that prefer an in-house arrangement). A lot of the training institutes claim to help in placements. Some of them, such as Combit, even take up a percentage of their students as employees. This is because they are basically Web hosting and e-commerce service providers, who have now diversified into coaching and training. The logic behind it is that being in the industry, they are more relevant and practical-use based. They need the people, so they train them.
However, do not assume that just because you have a course certificate, you will be snapped up like hot pakoras on a cold winter day. Do verify claims such as 100% placement of our students. For all you know the course-graduates are DTPing in some dingy office.
At what level will they be taken up?
The pass-outs are usually taken up as trainees. The trainee period ranges from six months to a year. The starting salaries range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.
But realistically speaking, unless you are exceptionally talented at what you are doing, don’t expect your first major hike and growth to happen before the first year is through. And unless there is some real idea-generation and responsibility-taking happening at your end through your initiative, forget about any position that lets you call the shots at least for now.
It’s not so disheartening, though. Isn’t this the way it works with almost all careers? Designers especially are pretty much in demand, as more and more companies are waking up to capture those eyeballs. Techies will never go out of fashion as long as bugs prevail. Words will always be a winner. And business acumen is the heart of it all.
What is the kind of fee or investment required?
The course could cost you anything from Rs 15,000 to over a lakh. It all depends on the course duration, the reputation of the institute and the course contents. So make sure of the entire deal before you go for it. Carry our checklist, add your own list of queries to it, be satisfied on all accounts and only then give them the thumbs-up.
Good luck and may you make much money on the World Wide Web!
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