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The
Internet got its first boom in the late 1990’s. “I didn’t really start any work until junior year when I was supposed to do homework, instead of stuff for clients that’s why I got bad grades, (laughs),” said Mark Sebastian who got his first salary job in 2000 as a multimedia developer with Visual Matter Inc..
Before his first salary, Sebastian started out doing contract work in 1998 for various companies that were referred to as clients for his image consulting company, Mediashock N.M.P. The three initials were the first letters of the names of the friends who joined him in the company endeavor to legitimize themselves as skilled graphic designers. “We needed to look professional. You know: business cards, phone numbers, location, address. We almost had a license!”
Mediashock N.M.P. provided them with the legitimate background to move forward, especially Sebastian, whom Visual Matter Inc. eventually employed. “I went up to San Francisco then the guy asked how I would like to make three times as much (money) as what people my age make.” He would do web design, Sebastian landed his first real internet job, with salary and a full two-year benefits.
Like Sebastian, many people look to the internet as a way to make a living. The internet is not all there is to make a living. “HavenSkate started off as a
message board. We would post where to skate then meet up,” said Jeff Sawyer, who is an internet idealist and uses the worldwide web for communication purposes among friends who
shared a common hobby: Rollerblading.
Work and to make a living off the internet is not simple Sebastian could tell you. He started off as an independent contractor then was put on salary for two years. Visual Matter Inc. had trouble like many other internet companies who failed during the dot-com bust. “The building where we worked closed down then they changed my $14 dollars an hour salary into $35 contract. Visual Matter Inc. had 18 people cut down to two.”
Sebastian was the youngest and he was the least paid on the roster so the company kept him and laid off the older employees who were at a higher cost to employ.
The remaining team members trained him in the areas lost where other employees were the laid off. Sebastian learned videos and photography, which later interested him.
By this point, there was no office but Visual Matter Inc. still existed as a company in Norcal, and Sebastian worked from home with a phone line. One day he would receive a phone call from a friend who moved to Los Angeles then he himself was convinced to relocate knowing his work could be brought with him, Sebastian moved.
The move turned out to be a nice convenience. Visual Matter Inc. had two offices stationed in Los Angeles and one in Denver, CO. Plus there was an open digital studio in Long Beach that was available for Sebastian to make any deadlines.
The move to Los Angeles was more of a living experience for him. Sebastian gave it three years and is now back in San Jose where he was born and raised.
He still has a few pending contracts but Sebastian’s interest with photography is becoming substantial, and he has the design skills to support it. Since his return in June, Sebastian has had one interview with a local magazine for a photographer job.
“One day I will quit my job for music,” said burnt out Smith of IT Core Business who works the field off his Bachelors degree in engineering.
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