Task 4 – Employment Opportunities In The Media Sector

The gaming industry has a wide array of different job opportunities. As the jobs are so varied in the gaming industry, lots of people with different skills are needed to be hired. Jobs start from entry levels to senior roles in the industry. There are different types of employment. A part-time position means you work between 0 – 24 hours a week, a full time position means you work 40+ hours a week. Self employment (also known as freelancing) is where you will hire yourself out to companies looking for your certain expertise.

Job opportunities.

Game Tester. A game tester is someone who tests games before they’re released. Game testers have to look out for any bugs or glitches that may be found in a game that they have been asked to test. They may be asked fir hours on end to play a videogame to look out for bugs that other testers may have found before them. You would also in some cases, look for spelling mistakes in the games subtitles.                                                                           The pros of being a game tester is that if you have a love for videogames and like to play them then you would be able to be a large part of the production process. Unfortunately, the job does come with some cons, for instance, you may be asked to work unsocial hours such as national holidays and weekends.                                                                                                   This job would interact with other game teams such as level design and coding. The reason for this is because as you are finding bugs you would also have to report them to the right teams. The skills for this job will vary from very few to a lot. In some cases, you wont need much prior experience but will need a keen attention to detail and a will need to enjoy videogames. In other cases you will need lots of prior experience including degrees and previously having a job in the industry.

Animation. In gaming, animation is arguably one of the most important things. Animation is used throughout a game and very heavily in cutscenes, it help to tell a story, which is what a large number of gamers want. Animators have to show how a person moves and how they behave so they are very important.                                                                   The pros of being an animator is that you get to have fun in your job and watch the things you animate come to life. If you have a love for videogames then you get to be a part of the process of making one. One of the cons is that you’re less likely to get a high end animation job without a university degree of some description. Chances are large game companies are looking for people with prior experience and lots of it at that.                             Animators may work closely with many other development teams, from the writers to the storyboard artists. An obvious must have is that you must be able to animate, with prior degrees and experience with other animation companies.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

CPD is a term that is generally used to mean a physical folder or portfolio documenting your development as a professional. In this there can be any qualifications or skills you may have picked up while working or courses outside of work.

In the gaming industry jobs are, more likely to be full time than they are to be part-time. The reason for this is that once you have started working on a game you will be for the next four or five years (if its a Triple A game). If a company hires you it is usually because they have seen potential in hiring you and know you would be good for their company so they would want to keep you for as long as they could. There are currently lots of self employed game developers who will make their living of creating independent games (more commonly known as indie games).

SWOT analysis of my professional development.

To work in any industry you must have a certain professionalism to yourself and your work. I feel as if I have a few good strengths that would come in handy within the gaming industry. One of my strengths is the fact that I have been using Photoshop and After Effects for a while now which gives me an advantage over some other young people looking for jobs in this industry. Another strength of mine would be the fact that i love videogames, having a passion for them has allowed me to know a lot about them and learn more about them. A weakness of mine would be that I much prefer to work in a group which can be difficult when I am not doing a group project. Another weakness of mine would probably be the fact that I can get distracted by other things when trying to do work, if I where to get a job in the gaming industry then I would have to put my head down and just get on with work. After looking at different job opportunities I have found lots of areas of work that I would be interested in, one for instance is a company that is looking for a video editor with not much more experience than me. With the gaming industry becoming a much bigger industry in the last 20 years, its no surprise that theres lots of jobs up for offer. With this being said, I don’t think that I will come across much resistance from other people looking for jobs as their are so many at the moment.