Those looking for interactive media careers might either specialize in a certain aspect of the industry, or work in two or more roles at once to make themselves more attractive to employers. Some roles in the interactive media industry work directly with the creation of content, such as content writers or software programmers. Other roles involve managing relationships with customers or overall management of interactive media departments or firms.
Interactive media careers can range from working with a website for a company, to designing a video game that features licensed characters. A variety of organizations use interactive media to engage customers or the public at large, with larger organizations such as Disney using an in-house department. Smaller organizations employ either interactive media firms or freelancers to complete projects on an as-needed basis.
Several different positions allow people in interactive media careers to create the content that the public sees and interacts with. Content writers create any of the text that is used in the interactive media, while editors might plan and also approve written content before it is published. Writers and editors both must choose text that is engaging to readers, as well as original. If the text is for a website, then both writers and editors must craft the text so the website ranks high in online web searches.
Other interactive media careers that involve content creation include programmers, who create computer software for use in various media forms, including websites or interactive features on DVD discs. Information architects, developers and designers craft the interactive media from scratch, designing not only what the media looks like but also how it functions or interacts with the audience. These various functions might be performed by multiple individuals working on the same project, or by only a few people who work in several capacities during the content’s creation.
Some interactive media careers do not involve actually creating content, but instead entail only managing the business relationships involved in interactive media creation. For example, producers interact directly with customers or other departments in an organization, helping to identify the overall objectives of an interactive media project before the creative process begins. Project managers oversee the activity of an interactive media project, keeping the project on-budget and completed by the agreed-upon date. Private interactive media firms have roles such as new business developers, who prospect future clients to ensure a continual stream of projects, and account managers who work to maintain positive relationships with existing customers.