Multimedia programmer : Career development

Until now, the industry has had a fairly flat structure, in which career development has been towards new skill areas rather than upwards. Opportunities exist for career development in areas such as internet, interactive television, games development, and e-learning. However, as the industry develops, more layers of management are emerging.

Programmers may remain focused on the production of multimedia or, with experience, may move into middle management roles, such as team leader, project manager or production manager. Depending on the size and structure of the company, these roles may vary or overlap. Project leader is likely to become a more important job profile as the collaboration of skilled professionals for the duration of a project becomes the norm. Project leaders, responsible for coordinating the work carried out by the various team members and ensuring that the project is completed to deadline, require an all-round skill set encompassing business, content, design and technical competencies.

As the multimedia industry evolves, digital security and online services are predicted to become major growth areas with the opportunity for skilled professionals to work with larger and more diverse audiences in new markets, such as China. The majority of companies will be small and focus on specialist services and niche markets.