They took our Interactive Media Jobs!!!

Here are three examples of jobs in the interactive industry and some infomation on each.

Designer – Work on designing the overall look and feel of a wide range of interactive communication products. By using graphics, animations, sound, data and text they may work on websites, games or interactive television.

Require a portfolio showing off works which are to a professional standard, showing strong design awareness with a demonstrated ability to work to a brief.

An interactive media designer should be:

·         Naturally creative and imaginative

·         Knowledgeable about computer technology and the technical processes involved

·         A team player and enjoy working alongside colleagues and external consultants

·         Organized and self-motivated

·         Interested in the future of interactive media, particularly digital technology

Work in England centered around the London area.

Design work could include the following:

·         Web sites

·         Off-line multimedia, such as DVDs and CD-ROMs

·         Online learning materials

·         Electronic games

·         Interactive television

·         Public information centers or interactive screens found in museums and at exhibitions

 

Starting straight from university, a new entrant would be looking to earn between £15,500 and £22,000 a year. This is about £15,000 under the average salary for a designer, but is to be expected for someone new to the industry. The Average salary for experienced interactive media designers is around £31,800. With highly experienced designers earning in excess of £50,000.

There are no set entrance requirements for getting a job as a designer per sei, if you have the creative talent then that could be enough, as long as you have the portfolio to back it up. Having qualifications however can make you stand out above the rest and it is always useful to have these, useful qualifications include;

·         GCSEs in math, sciences, business studies, ICT, art and design and English.

·         A levels in art and design, business studies and ICT.

·         BTEC national diplomas in subjects such as E-business studies, software development, and art and design.

Web Developer – Responsible for the design, layout and coding of new or existing websites. They are involved in the technical and graphical aspects of the website; how the site looks and works. And then updating and maintaining them.

A web developer should;

·         Have skills in software programming and graphics

·         Have creativity and imagination

·         Be adaptable and able to pick up new techniques

·         Have good interpersonal and communication skills

·         Keep up to date with advances in computer technology and how this affects the business environment

Again, work in England is centered around its capital.

Once the brief has been decided on a web developer would;

·         Write the programming code, either from scratch or by adapting existing website software and graphics packages to meet business requirements

·         Test the website and identify any technical problems

·         Upload the site onto a server and register it with different search engines

Salaries vary, with a beginners pay being somewhere in the region of £18,000 a year. An experienced web developer can expect to make something in the region of £30,000 and highly experienced developers making on average £40,000 which is just above the national average pay in the interactive industry.

Employers expect most web developers to have a degree level education, with relevant work experience if possible. There are a range of qualifications that could help with getting a job as a web developer these include;

·         BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design, Computer Studies or IT

·         Applicants typically need four GCSEs

·         Degrees in IT, computer science, programming, software engineering and other subjects. More specific degree subjects include web development, web design, multimedia design and web content management

Employers consider applicants from traditional academic degree courses such as math and physics as well as graduates of business and arts degrees who have a flair for problem solving in a logical manner.

There are also apprenticeships available.

Games Designer – Computer games designers devise new games, define the way the game is played and improve the “game experience”.

It is their job to develop the;

·         Games rules.

·         Setting.

·         Story and characters.

·         Props (such as weapons or vehicles)

·         Different ways the game may be played.

·         It is part of their job to persuade other members of the team to develop the game, working with programmers, artists, animators, producers and sound engineers to make their original idea into a working game.

·         A computer games designer should:

·         Be creative, imaginative and original

·         Be fluent in a number of software packages

·         Have a thorough understanding of the market and target audience for computer games

·         Have problem solving skills

·         Have storytelling ability

·         Have excellent communication and presentation skills

·         Understand the capabilities and benefits of different hardware including PCs, consoles and mobile devices as well as the relevant software technologies and techniques

·         Have basic drawing and 3D design skills

·         Be able to adapt quickly to change

·         Work well in a team and alone

·         Work well under pressure and be able to meet deadlines

·         Take criticism well

·         Be willing to keep up to date with new developments and trends in the computer games market

Around half of the people working in the games sector are based in London and south-east England.

An entrant in the games designing industry can expect to earn around £19,000 a year, this rises to around £30,000 by the time they have gained some experience, which is just under the average pay for people working in the interactive industry. A lead designer may earn between £35,000 and £55,000 a year.

There are no set entry requirements for applying to be a games designer, though the majority are graduates.

There are four accredited university courses for game design and these are;

·         BA (honours) computer arts, university of Abertay Dundee

·         BA (honours) computer games technology, university of Abertay Dundee

·         BA (honours) computer games technology, university of Paisley

·         BA in computer animation, Glamorgan centre for art and design technology

It is normally quite difficult to become a games designer without some previous work experience; this could be working as a tester in a QA department of a games studio. And employers usually expect to see a portfolio of work, this should include previous completed game projects and written game design documents.

(Information gathered from http://www.creativepool.co.uk/)