Creative and Media Jobs in London
Architect:
Architects design new buildings, make alterations to existing buildings, they also advise on the restoration of old buildings. They can work on individual buildings or on large development schemes. The usual workweek is 9am-5pm from Monday to Friday and usually office-based but time is spent visiting clients and the sites. Salaries range from around £25,000 a year up to £100,000, sometimes more for partners and directors.
Architects must work closely with their clients to ensure the projected designs are what is needed, functional, safe and economical. They can also be responsible for the design of the landscape surrounding the buildings.
A firm where I could work at if I were to become an architect located in London is Brisac Gonzalez Architecture at 179-181 Bermondsey Street in Southwark. They are currently working on projects in the UK, France, Russia and the Middle East, although they are based in Southwark.
The qualifications needed to be an architect are BS/ BS Honours in architecture a C+ in GCSE mathematics and English, some schools ask for maths or a science at A-level, not always necessary to study art but should enjoy drawing freehand and be interested in designing and making 3D models. Need two A-levels or one A-level and two AS-levels.
Universities you could attend are UCL, Kingston University, University of the Arts, London, University of Greenwich, and University of Southbank.
Graphic Designer:
Graphic designers produce design solutions to communicate their client’s message with high visual impact. These solutions are used for a wide range of products and activities, such as websites, advertising, books, magazines, exhibitions and displays, posters etc. A typical starting salary is £14,00 to £22,000, however salaries can vary depending on the sector of employment, location, and experience. Working hours are usually 37 hours a week, graphic designers usually work in communal studios because some jobs involve working in teams.
Graphic designers work to a brief agreed by their client or account manager, developing creative ideas and concepts using suitable media and a style that meets the client’s brief. They must meet deadlines and could spend long periods of time sat at a computer.
A firm/company located where you could work after study is IPC Media Headquarters located at 110 Southwark Street in London. This is a very famous media firm, they design lots of magazines, such as Nuts, NME, Now and Marie Claire.
The qualifications needed to be a graphic designer are some form of HND or degree level qualification in an area of design. You need A-levels or a BTEC National and study an Art and Design foundation Diploma. Also have studied one of these: graphic design, 3D design, fine art, visual art, photography, and communication design.
You could study at the University of the Arts, London, and Ravensbourne.
Contemporary Dancer:
Dancers use movement, gesture and body language to portray a character, situation or concept to an audience. This normally means interpreting the work of a choreographer, although it could be improvised. Dancing is a competitive and physically demanding career, it often involves times of unemployment.
To be a dancer you must be determined, prepared for and attending auditions and casting sessions, prepared to rehearse and exercise, be able to perform live, learn and use other skills such as singing and acting.
Qualifications needed to be a dancer are experience in dancing and a HND or foundation degree in dance. You could study dance at Trinity Laban.
To work as a dancer you could audition to be in West End musicals or go freelance.
Session Musician:
Session musicians are instrumentalists and vocal performers, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. These musicians are not usually permanent members of a group and do not often get famous as soloists or bandleaders.
Musicians must be determined, able to participate in concerts and recording sessions, they must be responsible with their time in order to practice and arrive on time to rehearsals. Maintain their instrument and/or voice in good condition and also able to learn new pieces of music to extend their repertoire.
To be a session musician you should have sufficient ear training and versatility because you may have to perform in various settings. You should have four passes at GCSE level, an A-level in Music/Music Technology and/or Performing Arts, or a National Diploma in a relevant subject (Music, Performing Arts, etc), a degree in music at university, and experience is always a bonus. You could study music at the University of Westminster, and the Royal Academy of Music.
Session musicians usually work freelance and may have a manager to help them book gigs and jobs with recording artists who are recording backing tracks.
Journalist:
A magazine journalist researches and writes articles and features for a variety of periodicals, such as, consumer magazines, business journals and trade publications. As a magazine journalist you could cover writing, sub-editing and designing.
Journalists should be able to meet deadlines for submitting work, have knowledge of concise writing styles needed for the internet (online magazines), be able to do research for a particular story, feel confident interviewing people, prepared to work for almost no money when starting out and you must also be persistent.
Qualifications needed to be a journalist are a HND or degree in journalism or English, a good grade at GCSE English, an A-level in English or Journalism. You could also have a talent for creative writing.
If I were to work as a journalist I could work for various magazines such as Look magazine, this would be about fashion journalism and targeted towards women.
Actor:
An actor uses speech, body language and movement to communicate a character and situation. This usually means interpreting the work of a writer under the instruction and support of a director, however there are some times when an actor will have to improvise the reactions of a character to a situation. Acting is a tough career and can include times of unemployment.
To be an actor you should be able to cope with the varying forms of work; from live stage performances of classics and community theatre, to soap operas, radio work and film parts. An actor could also be asked to teach or train others as well as provide entertainment. You must also be determined, persistent and prepared for auditions and/or rehearsals.
There is no set way of becoming an actor but qualifications that help are a degree in drama or an HND in performing arts as these can improve your chances of being cast and following this career path.
For work as an actor you can work with commercial theatre companies as they produce plays or musicals, usually running for a long time in the West End, as well as tours. There is also work with small companies on tight budgets.
The information I used in this research was gathered from
www.prospects.ac.uk/index.htm
