Advice on career choice

[Flash Mob]

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Edited January 30, 2009 by Flash Mob

[Tim Woods]

industry at the moment is very bouyant. But its becoming more crowded as time goes on. There are now lots of smaller studios competing for the same mid level work. The top is still the same, same companies, but the markets are widening at the top. We are now seeing more middle eastern jobs, and moving into the american market.

Budgets are getting larger, and the technology we use to get jobs done is getting more complicated.

 

The course looks good. But that said, it really does depend on your portfolio, artistic eye, and how well you come accross at interview stage. I did a multi media degree 4yrs ago, there wernt any 3d courses going except Bournmouth. All i would say is that they never tend to be that good, as all the proffesional people are in a job and not actually working as lecturers. I'm sure there are a few part time ones. So practical experience can never be beaten. Having a degree is a must in life in general these days, its a pity they are not really well tailored to the industry.

 

Thats my 2pence worth.

[JamesTaylor]

Hi Richard.

 

i'd say the industry is good at the moment. Arch Viz is still an emerging industry i think but it is definately become much more like standard practice for developers / architects to have images produced for all areas from planning applications, design tenders and sales liturature as well as being used for for out right design purposes. As such this is meaning there are more and more companies out there and as a result more job placements available.

 

As Tim says, the bigger budget being targeted at this area is helping the industry grow. The one thing i do notice tho is that finding a job is much more about about putting yourself out there and actually approaching companies with your portfolio as apposed to simply looking for job adverts.

 

Again as Tim suggests, at the minute there aren't any courses (to my knowledge) that deal directly with the skills of Arch Viz specifically and again like Tim i studied Multimedia at degree level. The course you linked to looks quite good, but i wonder if its a little stuck in the middle of two career paths. You'll learn about the design process but not like you would if you studied product design.....so someone with a design degree would probably beat you to a design job...and your going to learn about using computers but it appears that it would be very much down the line of aiding the design process rarther than in a creative manner, so someone with a multimedia degree may be more suitable than you for a creative computer position????

 

From my own experience studing Multimedia gave me a sound footing in many forms of digital media (web design, digital video, 3D animation etc) and of my own back and work experience placements during my summers i picked up the basics of the architecture industry. I beleive having a strong understanding of digital media across numerouus areas has stood me in good stead for the Arch Viz Industry as, as the budget for projects grows clients are expecting more than just an image, they want a message delivered which may be thro a web based media or DVD / CDRom's and the skill i learnt at uni then come into play too.

 

its a bit long winded but i hope it helps!! in respect of courses i can recommend the multimedia course at Leicester De Montfort Uni (i think it may be called Visual Communications or something like now) but there will many others around too!!!

[Flash Mob]

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Edited January 30, 2009 by Flash Mob

[JamesTaylor]

I think your right about Graphic Design, there are so many people out there doing it that its very competitive, also i don't the wages are too good either since there is so much compition.

 

Anyway, developing the skills for arch viz for me was very much off my own back. I already knew how to model in autoCAD having taken city and guilds course in it and then it was a case of taking the skills i learnt from studing multimedia and appling then to arch viz. Completing summer work experience in architects offices and trying to get the know the architectural industry also gave me a good insight into the type of things that companies were looking towards and undertaking. Ultimately the Multimedia Degree gives a very good grounding in digital media and then its up to the student to push their knowledge in the direction they want to go....university is very much self directed studymwith tutors for guidence, the more you put in the more you'll get out!

 

During my time at uni i only completed one arch viz type project that was my self directed study in my final year (http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5326&highlight=urgent heres my 1st post that was linked to the project! as you can see the standard was very poor but i got good marks!), i asked about undertaking such work for other projects but my tutors had the course more geared up towards games design and charcter modelling animation....i almost got the impression the didn't really recognise arch viz as a valuble industry.....although i imagine this is pretty much the case across the board as it is still an emerging industry really.

 

I think a lot of people in the past have tended to fall into the indusrty via not completing an architecture degree or such like, as the industry develops this is changing and i see a few courses giving it more consideration now, i think every architecture course will have their student doing limited work in this area, so its getting better!!

[notamondayfan]

when i was considering uni, i was more interested in the courses than wether there would be a job after uni. no point in studying for a job your gonna hate.

 

though i did alevel art, and my fine art was pretty poor, but i discovered 3D!! (truespace to be exact) the examining board loved the "new" medium so i got an A!! lol

 

anyway, i eventually chose huddersfield uni, doing virtual reality design. like u, i wanted to be creative. this course is a BA, and often u get marked for ideas and sketch book stuff, some times more than your final peice.

 

the vr course is run along side the multi media course, and the 1st yr is exactly the same. u can basically do any sort of media, from 3d to flash games. i learnt loads like flash, director, html, photoshop, 3ds max, and a bit of programming. most people on the course werent v computer litterate, but they all learned.

jus completed my 2nd yr, which was more 3d based, but i had the freedom to choose what i did my projects on, so i naturally made several 3d projects. but i always like to keep my options open. anyway good general design is also v useful

now im on work placement with an architects, doin alsorts, but mainly 3d vis stuff.

i love the course, and i know i wanna do 3d after uni, but not entirely sure i wanna stick with architecture.

 

hope that helps, dean

[Jim Mann]

what's the climate like for the proffession like at the mo - are there plently of jobs going. What's the climate likely to be like in 4ish years time?

 

When I started studying in architecture in 1988 there were tons of jobs, it was boomtime. A few years later when I came to do my first year out there was sod all work. The bottom fell out of the market almost overnight. I ended up getting a job in November instead of June after sending over 200 CV's. Determined not to be bottom of the food chain again I doubled my efforts back at University and then left to work in Hong Kong and then Berlin. Like Notamondayfan says, do a course because you like what you will be doing and not because the job prospects are ok at the time. That way, you will be able to follow the work and have a great time doing so.

 

If you really, really want to go into 3D, find a course that will equip you with more than just knowldge of packages and will ensure that you leave with an amazing portfolio of work. Portfolio is everything!

 

Jim

[Flash Mob]

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Edited January 30, 2009 by Flash Mob

[Flash Mob]

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Edited January 30, 2009 by Flash Mob