by Mansi Gandhi
At the recent event organized by The Job Forum – Career in Immersive Technology, we got some amazing and wonderful tips from the panelists who are managers from top immersive technology employers and professionals who have found new opportunities in this growing field.
Defining Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
We live in an astounding time for technology. Several innovations are perched to change the world as we know it forever, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and of course, virtual reality and augmented reality.
Augmented reality(AR) is about using a portable device, such as a Smartphone, to add a few extra details to what we see. Examples include Google Glass and Pokémon Go. Currently, the most popular applications of AR are on Snapchat, where selfie lovers use smart filters to decorate and animate photos on the fly.
Virtual reality(VR) is about full immersion, an experience that blocks out the physical world. VR users wear a goggle-and-earphone combo to engage in a 3D digital experience.
A summary of the discussions that took place at these events:
Types of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Jobs
- Content producer
- Software engineer
- AR and VR content writers
- Designer, animator, or sound artist specializing in AR & VR
- Product management
- Quality assurance
- UI and UX design and much more.
Healthcare Industry, Construction and development, architecture, retail, military, automotive and hardware servicing — all of these industries would benefit from immersive, digital experiences that mirror the real world.
While immersive technology evolves and mutates, the goals for the businesses using it remains the same: to engage customers and increase market share.
How to Get a Career in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality?
- Go to events. There are tons of meetup groups with people who are passionate about immersive technology, pursuing their own projects, or actively working in the field. They are all looking to make contact with like-minded people. Hackathons are another amazing way to meet people and get involved.
- Create your Portfolio, People want to see your thought process, your ideas and your skill level. If you’re not actively working on improving that, you’ll have nothing to show.
- Reach out to existing companies and businesses and ask questions. Let them know you’re interested in working in the industry and ask if they have any advice to offer. What do they look for in a potential candidate? What would absolutely get you hired? There’s always a chance that regular correspondence with a contact could help you get your foot in the door, so it’s a great place to start.
- Find and reach out to professionals in the industry and see if someone will allow you to shadow them for the day. This will also allow you to see the necessary skills and experience you’ll need.
Keep Growing and Learning
Finally, never stop growing and learning. Technology evolves and advances at alarming rates. If you don’t spend the time to stay up-to-date, you’ll be left behind in many ways. You’ll need to be bold if you want to stand out, and that means staying informed about the latest trends in the industry. If you want to hook an interview or land an opportunity at one of the bigger companies in the business, you need to hone a skill that’s high in demand.
How can you find or discover a desirable skill? Again, just pay attention to the current industry and various trends that are happening. Maybe companies or teams are looking for more of a collaborative player who can work nicely with others. Maybe they want someone experienced enough to come up with their own plans and strategies. Maybe they simply want someone dedicated and passionate enough to stick to a regimen, come hell or high water.
Other ways to get yourself noticed include attending online courses or seminars, pursuing alternate careers in development, creating an online and professional portfolio, and working on open-source projects. Jumping right into an alternate career, for instance, can net you a ton of goodwill in the industry. You could work in project management, general software development, or even become a business analyst or data scientist. Later, when you apply for a VR development job, you’ll be scooped up quickly because of your versatile skill set.
We believe immersive technology is an accessible career choice and we want you to consider it.
We also believe it needs YOU.
It needs all skills, voices and perspectives.
Top Recommendations by our expert panelists:
- Marc Petit, VP, Epic Games. (The Unreal Engine projects and community that surrounds his posts (on LinkedIn mainly).
- Dan Sutton, Brand Management, Riot Games. (With a great view of the gaming space and how this is changing the audience landscape, his posts are great.)
- Blog! https://www.mediamonks.com/blog/
- Read Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
- Explore Google Earth VR: https://arvr.google.com/earth/
- Follow Miquela in IG @lilmiquela
- Play Ingress on Android or iOS
- Emrich’s “AR Roundup + More” Linkedin Newsletter.
- Follow Cathy Hackl on LinkedIn. She breaks down tech trends from a business and human POV (often through demos/examples and her family!). She also writes for Forbes.
- Request to join the Women in VR/AR Facebook Group.
- Read/ Subscribe to Protocol.
- Get an Oculus Quest and find the games you love.
- Digital Humans – Meta Humans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEpH3o44_58&ab_channel=UnrealEngine
- Theatre > Live Performance
- Gaming > festivals
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/fortnite-to-host-animated-short-film-festival
- Event on the Event Industry
- Unity Digital Developer Day – Media & Entertainment
https://mediaandentertainmentddd.splashthat.com/
- Unity Digital Developer Day – Mobile Gaming
https://dddmobilegaming.splashthat.com/?utm_source=twitter&es_id=18fa781a28
Who is Hiring?
NIANTIC
https://careers.nianticlabs.com/
3lbgames
UNITY
8TH WALL
https://www.8thwall.com/careers
MediaMonks
https://www.mediamonks.com/careers
https://apply.workable.com/mediamonks/
SAM Immersive
Connect with Louisa to discuss opportunities
Here is the link to the YouTube Livestream of the event: https://youtu.be/f9F2Psa_OsY
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