Introduction
A career in new media or web development is meant to enable students to come up with high-quality content for various media sources. It is a very interesting career designed to improve the computing industry in several ways. New media or web development is designed to contain several computing elements. Some of them are: “motion graphics and visual effects, Javascript, website architecture, DVD authoring, audio, project planning and management, visual design, web graphics, and Internet law” (BCIT, 2011, p. 1). These elements are normally used with various application software. They include: “Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Dreamweaver and Protocols” (BCIT, 2011, p. 1). This paper analyzes what students need to understand about this career and what it takes to come up with a good application document, for consideration in this career. To achieve this objective, this paper will focus on analyzing the size of the sector, key industry players of the sector, the medium used by companies in this sector to communicate job opportunities, the job description roles in the sector, main skills and requirements for candidates in this sector and the expected salaries of recruits in the sector.
Characteristics of the Sector
New media development is a growing industry. Every day, new media is being developed, and since the job is highly dependent on information technology, “change” is a common factor in new media development (BCIT, 2011, p. 1). However, since new media development is technological, it is bound to grow in leaps and bounds as the world quickly embraces technology in virtually all aspects of life. This means that, in the future, there will be an increased demand for new media content. The industry is therefore bound to grow.
Since new media or web development is based on information technology, most sectors of the economy use it. This means that most sectors of the economy can use the services of a new media developer in improving their products or services (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). This can be perceived from a commercial and non-commercial point of view. From a non-commercial point of view, various institutions such as government and non-governmental institutions can use the services of a new media developer to communicate various aspects of their organization to their clients or the public. The same concept is also applicable in the commercial sector because various companies or institutions can use the services of a new media developer in communicating with the organization’s stakeholders (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). From this analysis, we can see that the size of the sector is big and it is almost unlimited in scope.
Key Industry Players
New media web development is not a complicated industry. More so, since the job is designed to be done online, there is very little control from most stakeholders evident in other types of industries (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). In other words, certain players like the government have very minimal control over the operations of the industry. However, the government is still a key strategic player in the sector because it undertakes regulatory and oversight roles. Clients are also a key strategic player in this industry because they drive the demand for the services of new media web development (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). Another key strategic player driving the demand for these services is the consumers or the public, which creates a demand for new and innovative ways of communicating information through web development.
Job Communication Medium
The communication of job opportunities in new media web development is based on the nature of the career itself. Since much of new media development is done online, any upcoming job opportunity in this sector is also advertised through the same medium (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). However, advertisements are also done through print media and word-of-mouth communication (depending on the complexity of organizations intending to recruit new employees) (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). New companies are likely to recruit through word-of-mouth communication but well-established companies are likely to recruit through print media or online communications (BCIT, 2011, p. 1).
Job Description Roles
The job description of a new media web developer is partially dependent on the designing, coding, and layout of website content (BCIT, 2011, p. 1). Majorly, the technical aspects of a website are maintained by new media web developers, but this task is also compounded by the creation and maintenance of website graphics. This analysis, therefore, revolves around the creation and maintenance of new elements controlling how websites work and how they look to the users (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). Other duties associated with the role of a new media developer include the creation of a programming code for easy communication between the users and the system, developing software and graphic packages for easy usability of the website, solving any technical problems of a website, and establishing a position of the site in the online search engines (such as Google, Yahoo, and the likes).
Main Skills and Requirements for Candidates
The main skills and requirements needed for a website developer revolve around an applicant’s interest and personal qualities. On the technical front, applicants need to have a strong understanding of software programming and graphics (with a strong imagination to develop new software applications and graphical components to fulfill, the “new media” requirement) (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). Applicants are also required to have strong adaptation skills because the industry is reliant on information technology, and various elements of information technology change by the day. Applicants are also required to have an excellent command of proper communication skills because the industry is based on communicating information to users (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). Moreover, applicants are also required to work individually (or in a team) and deliver strong media content (despite minimal deadlines to deliver new media content to web users). Applicants must also have a strong skill of multi-tasking activities because the career involves technical or graphical elements of web development, among other duties (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). Users are also required to have a strong knowledge of international web development standards and demonstrate strong skills in using their initiative.
Salary
The salary scale for entrants in the new media development is variable because employers vary the pay scale depending on the place of work and the nature of the work involved. However, on average, new entrants into the industry may have a starting salary of 18,000 pounds (Creative Pool, 2011, p. 1). This figure rises with the level of experience one has in the industry.
References
BCIT. (2011). New Media Design & Web Development. Web.
Creative Pool. (2011). Web Designer and Web Developer. Web.