A year or two ago, working for a dotcom seemed like a quick path to success. Hordes flocked to companies in Silicon Valley and New York's Silicon Alley ready to work for a pittance in exchange for potentially lucrative stock options and the chance to build something from scratch in a sexy industry. Seasoned professionals turned in their ties and suspenders for jeans and T-shirts, trading boring and reliable for exciting and risky.

For some, the dotcom world has been positive indeed. For example, the Amazon employees who got in early and walked away with millions in stock options, or the investors who got in and out before the bubble burst.

But this hasn't been so for many others. Everyday, the news is filled with stories of massive layoffs in the Internet space, and dotcoms are closing their doors with increasing frequency. The infamous Petstore.com, Living.com and Pseudo.com are listed among the casualties. And recruiting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports that Net firms cut more than 4,800 jobs in the past month, totaling nearly 16,600 since December, when Challenger began tracking dotcom layoffs. There are even sites dedicated solely to tracking sinking dotcoms.

RealityBites.com
The past nine months or so have been a painful reality check for this sector. Many are asking: "Should I go to work for a dotcom?" "Is it too risky"? "Am I too late?" The answers are yes and no.

Each company should be evaluated on its own merits. No one should base his or her decision entirely on the industry's past, current or future performance. Strong Internet companies with experienced management teams, solid business models, and adequate funding are still excellent places to work. Just like in the non-dotcom world, it is foolhardy to generalize about the companies in a particular sector. It would be akin to saying, "All the companies in the steel manufacturing industry are great places to work" or "Going to work in retail is always disastrous." Those generalizations don't work in the brick-and-mortar world, and they don't work in dotcom either.

Anne Johnson (not her real name) learned some difficult lessons while working for a dotcom start-up, a portal catering to minority professionals. She came from an international company with plenty of security but wanted to embrace a less corporate and more creative, pioneering environment. "I had no problem with sharing an Ikea desk with three computers on it with my three coworkers: the CEO, VP of business development and a marketing manager…I had no problem sharing a cramped conference room, while our sister Web developing company consumed the office space. My goal was to use my talents as a journalist and to provide a unique service to fellow Asian Americans," she explains.

Johnson's advises that job seekers considering the dotcom world make sure the company has experienced management and talent -- not people pretending to know what they're doing as she encountered. After the marketing manager was dismissed, the VP of business development assumed that position as well as the role of human resources executive. One woman was acting as three vital positions but knew virtually nothing about any of her jobs. In her role as HR executive, upon deciding a potential employee's title, she said, aloud amongst other employees, "No, I don't want to give him that title. He'll think he has more (power) than he really does. I have more power."

Johnson is no longer involved in the Internet sector and has gone to work the at a brick-and-mortar PR agency. "What I learned would not permanently dissuade me from ever considering employment at a dotcom," she says, "but it definitely makes me more aware of what to be wary of when considering dotcom life."

Not All Bad News
Is there a light at this seemingly endless tunnel of layoffs, closings and rebrandings? Yes, say some staunch Internet optimists. Michael Bell, creative director at Plural in Bethesda, Maryland, came from technical and multimedia consulting before the dotcom era arrived. In 1994, he started his own Internet consulting firm, Kinetic Media, Inc., and worked with start-ups in the Internet gaming industry until 1997.

Last year, Bell joined what he describes as a typical dotcom, Matrix Group International. "A lot of dotcom spaces are cult of personality, where one or two central personalities drive and motivate the business's direction and focus." This can be both good and bad depending on the personality involved. In Bell's experience, a more balanced management team is definitely preferable.

Dotcommers also often find that both success and failure are felt more strongly. "At the end of the day, you may have a greater sense of accomplishment when projects go well, because the results can often be instant and are very tangible." Take, for example, a typical site launch. It's not uncommon for 10 to 15 people to work 10-hour days for weeks at a time. When the site finally launches and the client calls and compliments the team on a job well done, employees tend to get more than the pat on the back so common at traditional firms. Chances are more likely that a big post-launch party will ensue, and performance-based bonuses might even appear the very next day.

Dot Now
Of course, people are still drawn to the Internet for its relative novelty. Kate Hermann worked as a television reporter and anchor for seven years, then abandoned TV for the dotcom life. Now a Web producer at The Deal, she says, "I took the leap because I was looking for a challenge and more stimulation. Working at a dotcom allows me to be creative, provides the ultimate learning curve and is ever-changing. What more could someone want from a job and career? Besides, the people and the environment are fun."

One of the most critical issues employees should use to determine whether to go to a dotcom is how well the company is funded. It sounds obvious, but surprisingly, many employees still jump in without understanding where the money comes from. Six to eight months ago, start-up dotcoms could offer huge stock options packages in lieu of competitive compensation, but employees are catching on and aren't willing to take that kind of risk.

People who are at stable dotcoms should try to stick it out, advises Bell. "The Internet is not going away. Dotcoms are not diminishing, even despite recent market performance and press coverage. Companies that can move efficiently and effectively within the Internet space already have models for success."