Information Architects
Many Entry Paths
Experts agree that the IA job role is here to stay but acknowledge that information architects sometimes find it necessary to justify their roles to managers, who aren't always sure of an IA's value as organisations seek to conserve resources and generate sales.
Unlike other IT jobs, such as a database analyst or programmer, the typical path to becoming an information architect doesn't exist -- yet. "Most working information architects got to be information architects by doing [information architecture] as part of some other job they had," says Jesse James Garrett, author of The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web and founder of Adaptive Path, a user experience consulting company. "They get hired to do a job for which IA may or may not be a defined part of their responsibilities, they take an interest in it, and they manage to talk somebody into letting them take responsibility for those things."
Would-be IAs may move into a full-time role from positions as programmers, interface designers, HTML coders and other Web team members, including content producers and writers.
