Considering a Career in Digital Multimedia?

Many young people today desire and aspire to work in multimedia. You can be creative, think outside the box and work with other like-minded people. But it’s also a very competitive industry; fast-paced, always evolving, with pressing project deadlines. It’s hard work, and you need to be truly passionate about it in order to succeed.  Industry projections suggest that the multimedia development sector is expected to continue to grow substantially, especially in new interactive digital media.

Many of today's employers don’t want to hire someone who only brings one skill to the table; they need and want the full complete package. Today's multimedia professionals must be able to generate and manipulate graphic images, animations, sound, text and video into consolidated and seamless digital applications.  Employers are also looking for people who have well rounded people skills who can also work directly with clients if needed, especially in smaller studios. You have to have critical thinking and problem solving skills and be able to recommend solutions through storyboarding, proposal writing and be able to pitch your concepts and ideas that will later translate to the actual product outcomes. You must be a team player who can navigate and coordinate with others to manage the development and implementation of the product.

Being an Interactive Multimedia Developer means you need a broad set of skills and knowledge and that can open the door to a number of opportunities such as animators, graphic designers, e-commerce developers, interactive or interface designers and developers, web programmers, media designers and developers, project managers, video and web producers, and web developers in addition to an endless number of other positions in the world of new media.

Many young people who are creative and artistic and have both an interest and passion in art, design and technology don't know which direction to turn when it comes to selecting a post secondary institution.  Many post-secondary schools work closely with industry to keep up and respond to market needs by developing more programs to meet this demand, so it’s up to you to make sure you explore the numerous programs available to ensure you get the best educational experience possible.  Some excellent college options to consider are Toronto Film School, Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art & Design, Centre for Arts and Technology, VCAD, Art Institute of Vancouver, Think Tank Training Centre and VanArts.