Traditionally, “highly paid” and “creative career” doesn’t appear in the same sentence, but as technology transforms every part of the creative process, the demand for creative technologists is surging, creating opportunities for artistic-minded tech workers.
The internet and social media have ushered in a digital creative renaissance, where artists are experimenting with new mediums like augmented reality and virtual reality, and emerging tools like generative AI. Art exhibits have transformed from static gallery shows to immersive experiences created by UX designers. Digital artists increasingly rely on technology as their studio, leveraging software tools like Adobe Creative Cloud, Open AI’s DALL-E, and Procreate to create their next masterpiece.
Similarly, the music industry is experiencing historic change. Software editing programs and virtual instruments have unlocked new possibilities for creative expression. Technology like streaming services have enabled artists to embrace new ways of marketing and distributing their music. Social media platforms make fan engagement possible in real-time.
Even already tech-savvy industries like film, television, and video gaming are seeing new opportunities emerge thanks to innovations in 3D graphics, video streaming, and computer performance. The metaverse has unlocked an entirely new world for the entertainment industry to seize, emerging after the pandemic shuttered live events and forced entertainment companies to get creative with digital offerings.
While technical innovation in creativity is exciting, it also poses legal and ethical concerns around things like an artist’s copyright and control over their work, meaning the field is ripe for innovation in the privacy, security, and compliance spaces.
How Tech Skills Can Propel Your Career in Arts & Entertainment
If you already work in a creative field or have always wanted a creative career, tech skills can help you land a highly-paid, professionally fulfilling role that helps take the industry to the next level.
Take General Assembly graduate Minh Trinh as an example. Minh was working in live entertainment when he was furloughed in the early days of the pandemic, so he enrolled in a software engineering immersive bootcamp. Since graduating, he was able to land a software engineering role with Comcast—a key player in the television and entertainment industry—that offers better pay and work-life balance than his previous role.
Not sure exactly how you want to combine your creativity with tech skills? Let’s dive into some of the opportunities in the field.
Creative Careers with Coding Skills
A “creative technologist” is an emerging role combining creative and technical skills to conceive, prototype, and develop experiences that are both visually compelling and user-friendly. Creative technologists often have many skills, spanning coding, 3D modeling, UX design, and graphic design. They are often the brains behind virtual reality experiences, interactive art installations, and highly visual apps or games. Creative technologists are likely to use tools like Adobe Creative Cloud, Maya, and Cinema 4D, and know coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Swift.
Software engineers are also highly in-demand at creative companies. Companies that develop video games, AR/VR experiences, film visual effects and animation, music editing software, and digital art tools need people who have a passion for creativity behind their tech. Software engineers looking to break into the creative field can learn languages like C++ (commonly used in video game development), Java (commonly used for Android app development), Swift (iOS app development) and C# (the default language of video game engine Unity).
UX designers are also critical to the creative field. If you’ve ever edited a photo in an editing app that you found intuitive to use, you can thank a UX designer. The ease of creation of many modern design, photography, and video editing tools all fall under the umbrella of UX. Their goal is to make using websites and technical tools easy, so creators can focus on creating instead of learning complicated tools. In addition to design skills, UX designers often have web development skills and know how to code in languages like CSS, JavaScript, and HTML.
As entertainment-focused industries increasingly rely on data to improve fan experiences and increase sales, demand for data scientists who can analyze large datasets using languages like Python or R has also increased. For example, think about the streaming apps you use that recommend new music. That algorithm was created by a data scientist. Data science is behind everything in entertainment today, from seeing an ad for your favorite artist’s concert on social media to helping you discover new artists and genres. Data scientists also have an important role to play in using tech like machine learning and natural language processing to detect and prevent copyright infringement and piracy of artists’ work.
Getting Started with a Creative Career in Tech
The intersection of technology and creativity has created a surge in demand for creatives with tech skills. If you’re considering breaking into this industry, becoming a software engineer, UX designer, or data scientist might be the way to get there.
At General Assembly, we teach the necessary technical skills to land a highly-paid, fulfilling role. The right training can lead to new opportunities and a better work-life balance – just like they did for GA Alum Minh Trinh. With the entertainment industry constantly evolving and innovating, now is the time to combine your creativity with tech skills and make your mark.
Are you ready to stand out from the crowd? Sign up for one of our intro workshops to learn how the latest in-demand tech skills can help you get ahead.