Videogame Industry
Hot new jobs you may not have considered
Auteur : thedesertsun.com
Du : 01/11/2005
Want to know where the new jobs are? Here's a peek at some that have cropped up or gained popularity because of consumer demands, new government regulations or trends.
Technical artists and video game designers: As the demand for video games that include 3-D animation and advanced graphics grows, so does the field of video game designing.
The Art Institute of California-Orange County offers a degree in Game Art & Design and designers end up at such companies as Pixar, LucasArts, PDI/DreamWorks, Sony, Microsoft and Apple.
The job of technical artist was created as the game industry "expanded into large, multi-project managing entities," says Laurie Torelli of The Art Institute of California-San Francisco. This person works in game, animation and special effects companies applying programming and design know-how.
Human rights professional: The first human rights program was created at the University of Dayton when director of international studies Mark Ensalaco recognized the growing "professionalization" of human rights.
Developing "a human rights defender of the future," the program prepares students to work for groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International and for such tasks as writing a position paper for the U.N. or scheduling meetings with diplomats.
Data capture and review specialists: These are specialized roles in the entertainment industry that came about as parents were concerned about what children see in the media and product placement increased.
They work for a company like PSVratings, which provides subscribers with detailed ratings information. Sitting in dark theaters with a lit-tipped pen on the Friday of an opening movie, they tabulate the number and severity of acts of profanity, sex and violence and how many times a product appears.
Sarbanes-Oxley specialist: Thanks to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires more corporate governance, this professional works in finance or compliance departments of large and medium sized public companies, consulting firms and law firms.
Specialists assess the effectiveness of a company's internal financial reporting and controls to make sure it complies with legislation, says Terry Connelly, dean of the Ageno School of Business at Golden Gate University. They need special training in the legislation's requirements through specialized finance and accounting degrees and certificate programs.
chief restructuring officer: This job has become more common due to large restructurings and bankruptcies. It can be internal, but often it's an interim position filled by an experienced turnaround person who is employed by under-performing companies. The turnaround management Association offers a Certified Turnaround Professional designation.
Coffee taster: Although not new, the job of checking for roast color, grind size and taste gained notoriety with the proliferation of cafes and gourmet coffee retailers. Specialty coffee netted an estimated $9.6 billion in the U.S. in 2004, says the Specialty Coffee Association, with the global coffee industry employing more than 20 million people.
A typical day for coffee taster Lisslotte Eckhoff includes sampling up to 300 cups of coffee a day, selecting blends and overseeing roasting of beans she deems worthy at Gevalia Kaffe in Gavle, Sweden.
Family ambassador: This new role provides hospitality and support to families at hospitals. The job was created at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago and is showing up elsewhere as a result of patient-family feedback. Ambassadors communicate with patient and family, accompany families to rooms, refer complaints and provide emotional support before surgery.
Chief privacy officer: This job became in vogue in 2000 when increased government scrutiny forced companies to pay more attention to customer privacy and adequately protect personal information, says a 2000 Knight Ridder/Tribune article.
But as Jay Stanley, analyst with Forrester Research predicted in the article, "the most important role for a privacy officer is to look into the future and anticipate blowups."
Potential blowups they now watch out for include the use of genetic information in hiring and determining health care or benefit plans as the concern grows that "genetic information could become a modern tool of discrimination," said a recent New York Times article.
Technical artists and video game designers: As the demand for video games that include 3-D animation and advanced graphics grows, so does the field of video game designing.
The Art Institute of California-Orange County offers a degree in Game Art & Design and designers end up at such companies as Pixar, LucasArts, PDI/DreamWorks, Sony, Microsoft and Apple.
The job of technical artist was created as the game industry "expanded into large, multi-project managing entities," says Laurie Torelli of The Art Institute of California-San Francisco. This person works in game, animation and special effects companies applying programming and design know-how.
Human rights professional: The first human rights program was created at the University of Dayton when director of international studies Mark Ensalaco recognized the growing "professionalization" of human rights.
Developing "a human rights defender of the future," the program prepares students to work for groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International and for such tasks as writing a position paper for the U.N. or scheduling meetings with diplomats.
Data capture and review specialists: These are specialized roles in the entertainment industry that came about as parents were concerned about what children see in the media and product placement increased.
They work for a company like PSVratings, which provides subscribers with detailed ratings information. Sitting in dark theaters with a lit-tipped pen on the Friday of an opening movie, they tabulate the number and severity of acts of profanity, sex and violence and how many times a product appears.
Sarbanes-Oxley specialist: Thanks to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires more corporate governance, this professional works in finance or compliance departments of large and medium sized public companies, consulting firms and law firms.
Specialists assess the effectiveness of a company's internal financial reporting and controls to make sure it complies with legislation, says Terry Connelly, dean of the Ageno School of Business at Golden Gate University. They need special training in the legislation's requirements through specialized finance and accounting degrees and certificate programs.
chief restructuring officer: This job has become more common due to large restructurings and bankruptcies. It can be internal, but often it's an interim position filled by an experienced turnaround person who is employed by under-performing companies. The turnaround management Association offers a Certified Turnaround Professional designation.
Coffee taster: Although not new, the job of checking for roast color, grind size and taste gained notoriety with the proliferation of cafes and gourmet coffee retailers. Specialty coffee netted an estimated $9.6 billion in the U.S. in 2004, says the Specialty Coffee Association, with the global coffee industry employing more than 20 million people.
A typical day for coffee taster Lisslotte Eckhoff includes sampling up to 300 cups of coffee a day, selecting blends and overseeing roasting of beans she deems worthy at Gevalia Kaffe in Gavle, Sweden.
Family ambassador: This new role provides hospitality and support to families at hospitals. The job was created at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago and is showing up elsewhere as a result of patient-family feedback. Ambassadors communicate with patient and family, accompany families to rooms, refer complaints and provide emotional support before surgery.
Chief privacy officer: This job became in vogue in 2000 when increased government scrutiny forced companies to pay more attention to customer privacy and adequately protect personal information, says a 2000 Knight Ridder/Tribune article.
But as Jay Stanley, analyst with Forrester Research predicted in the article, "the most important role for a privacy officer is to look into the future and anticipate blowups."
Potential blowups they now watch out for include the use of genetic information in hiring and determining health care or benefit plans as the concern grows that "genetic information could become a modern tool of discrimination," said a recent New York Times article.