This program can make you seriously hireable in the digital industry

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

Okay, we know; it’s the question that everyone loves to hate. But it’s something that you need to consider in a world that’s constantly changing. Everything is going digital. It’s the future – and you’re going to want to be part of it.

In 2017, the BC government issued a statement revealing that there are roughly 106,000 direct tech jobs and that at least 16,000 more will be created over the next four years. Oh, and that salaries for these jobs will be 75% higher than the provincial average. The average salary for advertised tech jobs in Canada in 2017 came in at an impressive $62,397, according to job ad search engine Adzuna.

In Vancouver, the digital industry is growing fast with tons of job opportunities. For starters, Facebook is opening a downtown office, Amazon is opening a new office on West Georgia Street, and Blackbird Interactive is moving to a new office on the Great Northern Way Campus.

So how do you get hired in the digital industry?

Now more than ever you’ll want to have an edge over other candidates when you’re applying for a job. And that starts with your education. Whether you’ve just completed your undergraduate degree, or if it’s been a few years since you sat in a lecture hall, Vancouver’s Centre for Digital Media (CDM) is where you can get started.

The school offers a 16-month Master of Digital Media program that equips students with the right practical skills to make sure they can become hireable in the digital industry. Six core competencies are developed throughout the program; design processes, self-awareness, time management, articulation, information literacy, and teamwork. Together they make up an approach to building, managing, and leading digital media projects called “The MDM Way.”

Taking this program means you could go on to work in the digital industry in Vancouver, a city that has one of the top video game clusters in the world, with the world’s largest VFX and animation hub.

This isn’t your average Master of Digital Media program

A post shared by Centre for Digital Media (@centredigimedia) on Oct 23, 2017 at 3:47pm PDT

As a student of this program, you’ll have the opportunity to create things in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). You’ll be engaged through coursework and projects to develop essential communication, collaboration, and leadership skills.

Additionally, you’ll have the chance to complete a four-month internship related to the career path you wish to follow. The MDM experience can help you to secure this placement and many of their students have done internships at SAP, Microsoft, EA, Bandai Namco, Archiact, Vancity, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), and Telus Digital.

Graduates of the program have gone on to work for companies like Apple, Google, and EA, holding positions such as development managers, associate producers, UI/UX designers, and software engineers. Others have even established their own digital media start-ups, including H+ Technology, Neartuit, Scuba Diver Life, RunGo, and Quupe.

Unparalleled experience

What makes the Master of Digital Media program at the CDM stand out is that its unique curriculum meets the needs of new and expanding digital media markets. It’s also accredited and awarded by four leading Canadian post-secondary institutions: UBC, SFU, ECUAD, and BCIT.

Taking this program is the perfect way to advance your digital media game and you don’t need a tech industry background to get a place on this program either. The school accepts students with different ranges of expertise. It results in a hub where makers come together to create digitally, and where teamwork is a big part of what you do.

This can be the year that you improve your digital media skills by enrolling in the Master of Digital Media program. If you do, you’ll be finished in less than two years and may find yourself in the best career position of your life.

To find out more about the Master of Digital Media Program, visit the Centre for Digital Media now. Check out the school on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, to get the latest updates.