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These are exciting times. Words like Internet, World Wide Web and E Commerce are part of our daily language. Everyone has a favorite web site, much like a newspaper or a magazine. While one is working with a dot com, another has just registered a domain and dreams of founding a dot com. Dot coms work at Internet time (roughly 2.6 months on calendar make an Internet year).

The Web, out of its adolescence now, has revolutionized the way we communicate and work. It has helped evolve a new lifestyle. The Internet has also become a level playing field where veteran established players slug it out with young hot startups. E-Commerce, the new business model, has added a whole new dimension to the competitive landscapes of businesses.

For a lot of young professionals, this has become a quick route to fame and fortune. The job markets have boomed with the rapid growth of the Internet industry. The Web has opened new vistas for people to do things differently and succeed. It has bred new work styles, new opportunities, and heck, whole new careers!

One hell of a time
When I chose to join a Web startup mid 1998, a lot of friends thought it was a poor career decision. Back then, things were not as attractive as they are now. It was a risky, unproven and "dangerous" world to explore.

Workdays stretched beyond 14 hours and involved answering loads of email, networking with press, evangelize for the web site……you just fail to remember all the different things you do there. Each of us had our role to play. But, we had to be everything, often doubling up for another's role. For example, once the web designer had to substitute for the business manager to keep an engagement so that we would lose the client. We had to make decisions on the move. Strategy seemed to change every week. Content had to change too.

The New Work Life
Web startups open challenges for people to explore new ideas and think up new solutions. Startups thrive on uncertainty. The roles people assume and play are seldom defined. People who possess multiple skills are the most sought after.

New challenges are an everyday thing and your delivery time on the new skills you acquire is often as short as a few hours. If you handle those challenges well, you will rise quickly because your company needs you to. Dot Coms are meritocracies by nature and function; they cannot survive on hierarchies.

If you land a job at a Dot Com, don't expect to be slogging the usual 9 - 5 work days. You will find yourself kicking butt for 12 hours or more. I won't mince my words, working at a Dot Com could be killing. The workload is going to overwhelm you. You will begin to ponder if the sacrifices you make are worthwhile. So, you need to make informed decisions about your reasons for joining.

"The Internet has changed the way we work," a 26 year old vice-president at a dot com says. "You are not going to cut it with a 9-to-5 attitude. People must get used to working 60 and 70-hour weeks," he said.

Small Is Beautiful
Dot coms typically survive on short staff, and are perpetually faced with a new problem. Their smallness makes managing and faster growth all the more exciting. Dot coms are chaotic places to work. You never are sure when you realize that you end up doing your colleague's job. Jeff Bezos, the legendary founder of amazon.com at one point ended up as an expert reviewer of books that amazon sold.

A youthful energy pervades these work places and results in the exuberance and zeal that characterize web start ups. People working in Dot Coms are typically young and they bring a lot of energy and ideas. It is a matter of pride to boast of a young team now. "I think the reason Dot Coms are generally populated with people below the age of 30 is because they're the ones with time, energy and enthusiasm overload. I really don't know how I'd manage if I had the commitments of family and part-time study... I'll just have to put them off for a while." Says a 27 year old veteran Dot Com-mer in Australia.

Thriving in uncertainty
Jobs with Web companies are huge commitments. The rewards are equally attractive. Almost all Web companies offer part ownership in the company through stock options. Professionals who want to succeed on the Web must have an inner motivation to achieve and derive satisfaction from transforming an idea into a successful business. With all the glamour comes a lot of uncertainty, fear of losing out.

To survive in this extremely dynamic environment, you have to be smart and quick minded. A fine sense of humor will be a great help. Humor is often the only way to deal with the absurd pace of change and intense demands of the job.

Work demands extraordinary commitment and the ability to coordinate with the rest of the team. You won't last long if you lack coordination skills. People spend about 10-12 hours a day at work, with crunch times calling for even longer hours. One of the most powerful factors that motivate successful web startup teams is the founders. Often, these people are accessible and are willing to listen and tend to spend more time with the team and serve as a powerful motivation.

Winners Deliver
The only mantra for the success of all web companies, which many fail to appreciate, is to deliver. A lot of companies end up selling their services but fail to deliver. Those who deliver will be winners. Now you want to be with a winner, check for those who are capable of delivering and be part of a winner.