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# Digital Media Job Market

## Jobs of the Future – New Career Paths: Newsweek, April 30, 2001

"The high-end graphics popular in Hollywood animation, computer games and virtual media require artists who are also computer programmers. The Labor Department projects employment for commercial artists to rise 25 percent by 2008, spurred in part by an increased demand for digital talent."

### Job Outlook: Computer Programmer, April 19, 2000

Employment of visual artists is expected to grow faster than average (21-35% from 1998 to 2008) for all occupations through the year 2008. Despite numerous openings, a number of factors will continue to moderate employment growth.

The consolidation and centralization of systems and applications, developments in packaged software, advanced programming languages and tools, and the growing ability of users to design, write, and implement more of their own programs means more of the programming functions can be transferred to other types of workers.

Furthermore, completion of Year 2000 work will mean that many programmers will need to be retrained and redeployed in other areas. And, as the level of technological innovation and sophistication increases, programmers should continue to face increasing competition from programming businesses overseas where much routine work can be outsourced at a lower cost. Nevertheless, employers will continue to need programmers with strong technical skills who understand an employer’s business and its programming needs.

Given the importance of networking and the expansion of client/server environments, organizations will look for programmers who can support data communications and help implement electronic commerce and intranet strategies. Demand for programmers with strong object-oriented programming capabilities and technical specialization in areas such as client/server programming, multimedia technology, and graphic user interface (GUI), should arise from the expansion of intranets, extranets, and World Wide Web applications.

Programmers will also be needed to create and maintain expert systems and embed these technologies in more and more products. As programming tasks become increasingly sophisticated and an additional level of skill and experience is demanded by employers, graduates of 2-year programs and people with less than a 2-year degree or its equivalent in work experience should face strong competition for programming jobs. Competition for entry-level positions, however, can also affect applicants with a bachelor’s degree.

Prospects should be best for college graduates with knowledge of, and experience working with, a variety of programming languages and tools; including C++ and other object-oriented languages like Visual Basic and Java, as well as newer, domain-specific languages that apply to computer networking, data base management, and Internet application development. Because demand fluctuates with employer’s needs, job seekers should keep up to date with the latest skills and technologies. Individuals who want to become programmers can enhance their prospects by combining the appropriate formal training with practical work experience.

### Job Outlook: Visual Artists, April 19, 2000

Employment of visual artists is expected to grow faster than average (21-35% from 1998 to 2008) for all occupations through the year 2008. Because the visual arts attract many talented people with creative ability, the number of aspiring visual artists continues to grow. Consequently, competition for both salaried jobs and freelance work in some, but not all, areas of visual arts is expected to be keen.

The need for visual artists to illustrate and animate materials for magazines, journals, and other printed or electronic media will spur demand for illustrators of all types. Growth in the entertainment industry, including cable and other pay television broadcasting and motion picture production and distribution, will provide new job opportunities for cartoonists and animators. Competition for most illustration jobs, however, will be strong, because job opportunities are relatively few and the number of people interested in these positions usually exceeds the number of available openings. Employers should be able to choose among the most qualified candidates

### Job Outlook: 3D Visualization, August 16, 2000

Jon Peddie Associates (JPA), the leading market research firm covering the digital media, convergence, software, and workstation graphics markets, today released the findings from their newest market study, entitled 3D Visualization and Simulation. This study provides five-year forecasts along with analyses and insight into the market for tools and platforms used to create and operate 3D visualization and simulation content and applications. JPA forecasts that this market will triple in size over the next five years -- growing from an estimated $8.1 billion at the end of 2000 to $24.8 billion by the year 2005, as shown in the following table. Key drivers of this immense growth include the continued shift to the more cost-effective computing platforms such as Microsoft's Windows NT, the growth of off-the-shelf 3D visualization packages, and the emergence of new 3D VizSim sectors such as enterprise visualization.

While market segments such as defense and government, design and engineering, and medical and scientific -- the original pioneers of 3D VizSim -- will continue to see strong growth over the next five years, JPA expects the industry and business (I&B) segment to lead the pack in terms of annual growth. While I&B contains the oil & gas and mining sectors, both heavy users of 3D VizSim, it also contains the expanding financial services sector and the emerging enterprise visualization sector. As businesses enter the 21st century the volume of data they encounter daily continues to skyrocket, driving a need for managers and executives to find better tools for information management and decision analysis -- and these groups are finding 3D VizSim an increasingly necessary, and sometimes indispensable, tool to accomplish their goals. Market segments covered range from defense and government, design and engineering, industry and business, to medical and scientific.

### Industries

- Entertainment (movies, commercials, documentaries)
- Industrial Design, CAD/CAM (Computer-aided design, Computer-aided manufacturing)
- Forensics
- Fashion
- Automobile design
- Architectural, Landscape design
- Computer Gaming
- Web Content providers, design
- Flight Simulation
- Theme park simulation rides
- Scientific graphics, Research
- Virtual Reality
- Medical Imaging

### Job titles

- Computer animator, Character animators
- 3D modelers
- Visual effects animators
- Digital artists
- 3D Graphics programmers
- Virtual reality, visualization specialists
- Visual effects programmers
- Research programmers

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