to work in the US or not

UK webmaster looking to work in the US

[chrisforeman2]

Have been online for a while now offer my services as a contractor web master.

I sell myself as a one stop shop for design,development and online marketing and work on projects from concept to 1to2 years online review.

I would welcome any comment from the group about the job market in the US for people like myself.

Is online marketing a stand alone career, or is it considered just part of a job?

Is online marketing considered the job of a specalist or of a webmaster?

Should I sell myself as an all in package, or focus on a particular skill set which is in demand?

Which skill sets are in demand?

Any tips on working in the US...

Chris

[martinibuster]

I think many of the questions you ask are a bit subjective, and thus depend on who's answering. No one answer is necessarily correct.

"Any tips on working in the US..."

Webmaster job offers in the SF Bay Area are usually answered by hundreds of would-be webmasters. The competition is fierce.
The same goes for New York.

I can't speak for in between, but I remember reading in "A List Apart" from someone in Iowa that he's competing with 15 year-old FrontPage jockeys who charge $100.

[BlobFisk]

On a similar vein, what are things like in UK and Europe at the moment?

[chrisforeman2]

In response to what's it like in the UK. I can offer only my own experience.

I was, and still am, a damm good online designer/developer with a CV full of blue chip companies. I had to gain a very wide range of new and extra skills to my bow to even keep up with the flood of "web designers" coming onto the market from Colleges, bedroom practisioners and night classes.

One of these skills was search engine positioning. I have done a great job of ensuring my clients rank within the first few pages for agreed words and prases. I also offer advice and help on how to market a site, encouraging clients not to expect traffic to apear but to go out and get it just as they would in the "real" world.

I am finding that this extra skill increases value for money to the client, an ability to track in fairly good details visitors to a site, ability to interpret traffic and refine a site to increase its traffic.

It's clear that when budget are tight, the understanding of online marketing and the ability to offer real solid info can often tip the balance as more and more clients understand that its no longer good enough simply to have a web site.

Chris

please excuse the spelling..................