Top 10 jobs for Facebook junkies: $ocial network like a pro

By JoVon Sotak

Education Articles

You're a Facebook junkie. Even if your employer is in the 54 percent of companies that ban employees' access to Facebook, you don't really care because you're in the 30 percent of people with Facebook in their pockets thanks to your mobile device. Bathroom break? Post a status message. Unnecessary bathroom break? Wish your friend a happy birthday. You take the stairs instead of the elevator--slowly--just so you can play City of Wonders (and Farmville before that, and Mafia Wars before that).

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Still in denial? Best to measure the depth of your addiction. Compare your numbers to those of the average Facebook user who:

Has 130 friends
Is connected to 80 groups, events, and community pages
Creates 90 pieces of content (e.g., status messages, link sharing, photos, messages) each month (yes, that's per month)
Spends an average of 6 hours and 43 minutes on Facebook each month (again, that's per month)

Channel your Facebook talents into a new career

It may just be a matter of time before your over-the-top Facebook tendencies land you in hot water at your job. Avoid that slippery slope--and the stairwell--and channel your urges into one of these ten careers that both benefit from and encourage your Facebook expertise.

Business development/product manager
Businesses recognize the potential in Facebook's user base, which is why more that one million Web sites have integrated with Facebook and why thousands of businesses are developing Facebook applications. Why shouldn't you be one of the people who drive business decisions to develop Facebook products?

Suggested degree: Computer Systems MBA
Internal corporate communications
More companies are using social networks in their internal corporate communications strategies. You can help your employer start positive conversations about its products, customers, employees, and services.

Suggested degree: BS in Communications
Application developer
Wouldn't it be a personal point of pride if a Facebook application you developed joined the 550,000 applications currently on Facebook? Think what comments your 1,500 friends would post when you shared it!

Suggested degree: BS in Computer Science
Public and community relations
New media and social media have changed the scope of public relations. Now companies need public relations people to help manage their brand, which includes the management of Facebook profiles as part of their overall PR strategy.

Suggested degree: MA in Public Relations
Social media strategist
Companies and consultants who are looking for an audience to market their services and products to need people with your expertise. As a social media strategist, you'd create campaigns using social media channels to help your clients achieve their business objectives.

Suggested degree: Marketing MBA
Nonprofit management
A big part of nonprofit work is fundraising, event planning, and outreach. What better way to find people to support your cause than through Facebook?

Suggested degree: Nonprofit Management MBA
Event planning and promotion
You already know how to create and manage events through Facebook. Combine these skills with your offline social skills for a career in event planning and promotion.

Suggested degree: Associate in Event Planning
Game developer
Just think, you could create the next game that over 200 million Facebook gamers can't stop playing--even while at work.

Suggested degree: BS in Video Game Design and Development
Political campaign worker
Where there are people, there are politics. Even after the campaign season is over, successful politicians need savvy people to manage their social media accounts.

Suggested degree: BS in Political Science
Jobs with Facebook
Facebook employs user experience analysts, human resource professional (who use Facebook to recruit!), and lots of other professionals that have a passion for Facebook.

Suggested degrees: Business or Social Sciences

Have the Facebook skills but lack the know-how? If you can set aside some non-Facebook time, online education makes it easier for savvy Internet users like you to get a degree online in business, corporate communications, web application and game development, and many other subjects.

Why Facebook addiction is a no-go in the workplace

Though you probably don't spend all of your workday in the stairwell or the bathroom, the reason why a lot of employers are establishing policies that ban sites like Facebook is the loss of productivity. One often-cited study published in July 2009 by Nucleus Research involved a small sample of 237 employees and the resulting loss of productivity was a meager 1.47 percent. Since then, other studies, including one from the University of Melbourne, concluded that "workplace Internet leisure browsing" can actually improve workers' concentration.

However, a new career may still be in your best interests, considering what Brent Coker from the University of Melbourne told PCWorld.com about people like you: "Those who behave with Internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity than those without." Best to find a different course and embrace a career that wants you--and your high-achieving Facebook profile--just the way you are.