Unit 1.2: Report of Employment in Creative and Media Jobs in London

Employment in Creative and Media in London

There are various types of jobs and career paths involved within the creative and media world; there are also lots of them and many opportunities to get into this type of work too. For example you can find jobs in: print media, music, performance, art etc, this means you could be a dancer, actor, singer, architect, graphic designer, journalist and many more.

There are jobs in media such as journalism; I met Paul Mardles, who is a journalist at The Observer. His job involves creating publicity for celebrities and bringing attention to certain stories. This job is print media, as the articles he writes will be printed for everyone to read.

I also met Marcel Pusey, whose job is in music; he has his own band and has produced a piece of music software, which teaches people how to use bars when creating music.

Chanelle Newman and Akala also work in the music side of the creative and media jobs. Akala is a rap artist who is managed by Chanelle. They are partners in the Hip Hop Shakespeare Company, which teaches young people about music and gives them a place where they can develop their skills.

Others I met that had jobs to do with music were Kevin Leo – a singer/song writer and Marcina Arnold – a voice coach.









As there are lots and lots of jobs in this industry and naming them all could take days, I decided to focus on a select few to give a good representation of the variety that is offered and researched them. Here are some of the jobs I researched.

Architect: To work in architecture you need to have people skills because you must be able to work closely with clients to ensure you are both happy with the designs and the final outcome. Also an architect should be prepared to work long hours, as it is a dedicated and hard-working job. Qualifications needed are a BS/ BS Honours in architecture a C+ in GCSE mathematics and English, some schools ask for maths or a science at A-level, its not always necessary to study art but you should enjoy drawing freehand and be interested in designing and making 3D models. Two A-levels or one A-level and two AS-levels will be needed. Universities you could attend are UCL, Kingston University, University of the Arts, London, University of Greenwich, and University of Southbank.

Graphic Designer: To be a graphic designer you must be confident in communicating your clients’ message with high visual impact. This type of job can include designing a wide range of products and activities, such as websites, advertising, books, magazines, exhibitions and displays, posters etc. some jobs involve working in teams, so you should be able to work with a group as well as independently. Qualifications needed 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.

You should also have studied one of these: graphic design, 3D design, fine art, visual art, photography, and communication design. You could study at Ravensbourne and the University of the Arts, London.

Contemporary Dancer: In order to work as a dancer you must have the ability to use body language and movement to display a character, situation or concept to the audience. This type of work means that you should be able to take direction, be determined, prepared for auditions and rehearsals, have the ability to perform live, learn and use other skills such as singing and acting. Being a dancer is a demanding career and involves times of unemployment. The qualifications needed are experience in dancing and a HND or foundation degree in dance, you could study dance at Trinity Laban.

Session Musician: To be a musician you should be able to work independently and with others at live performances or recording sessions, however session musicians are not usually permanent members of a group. Musicians are determined and able to participate in concerts and recording sessions, you must be responsible with time keeping in order to practice and arrive on time to jobs or rehearsals. 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.

Journalist: To be a journalist you should be able to write articles and features for a variety of periodicals. Such as consumer magazines, business journals and trade publications. 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 should also have a talent for creative writing.

Actor: 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, and you should know it is very competitive so there will be times of unemployment. 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.

Overall I have learned a lot about creative and media jobs and how wide the range of jobs extends to. Some of the things I have learned is that architecture is a creative and media job because it is creative and contributes a form of design. I also did not know that there was a university that specialises in music and dance so close to my local area, such as Trinity Laban in Greenwich. Something else is that before this research, I didn’t know that journalism was part of creative and media. I now know that because it is media and involves being creative in your writing and how you present your research and articles.
The most important thing I have learned is that this industry is very competitive and that although there are many jobs in London it is still hard to get into these types of careers and so you must be persistent, dedicate and it would help tremendously if you have the right qualifications and experience for the type of job you are after.