The joy and the curse
Work in the media industries is project driven. The upside is that the work is varied and interesting. The downside is that most of the people who work here are freelancers, operate as small businesses or work on short term contracts. This means that keeping yourself in work gets added to a very long list of other duties.
It can get very stressful, as sometimes the usual rules of the employment world do not seem to apply to the creative media industries.
Here are a few things to bear in mind as you start your career:
- There is no set career route
- Recognise your level of experience - understand that you will have to prove yourself and work your way up
- Be prepared to invest time, and perhaps money, in developing your skills and knowledge
- The media business is all about communication - you have to be able to get along with people
- You need to get your act together. If you work freelance, you're a business: you have to plan, invoice and follow up. Many talented people lose out because they don't have the business skills to back-up their creativity
- Do some basic research into pay/rates, contracts, legal stuff, copyright, work experience, voluntary work, deferred payments and tax
- Take steps to protect yourself and your interests
- Respect your talents - and those of the people you work with
