Programming Courses

Programmer: Overview

Multimedia programmers are typically employed in specialist multimedia companies, as well as other organisations that use or create multimedia products. Programmers are employed within the following industry sectors:

• Advertising and marketing
• Education
• Broadcasting
• Telecommunications
• Publishing and media
• IT and games

With the the popularity of broadband allowing more facilities via the internet, opportunities in multimedia programming have expanded.

Expected Salary

• £18,000 - £24,000 - Starting salaries
• £28,000 - £35,000+ - Experienced programmers

Training

The most important training consideration is to keep up to date with new developments, such as adapting existing skills to a new package, learning a new programming language or working with a new platform.

Underoak lists many short courses to aid you in your career progression. These may be funded individually or through your company. To search these courses, simply type the relevant key words and click on ‘request information for free’ to send your enquiry direct to the trainer.

Related Careers include:

• Web designer
• Games developer
• Graphic designer
• IT consultant
• Multimedia specialist
• Network engineer
• Software engineer
• Systems analyst
• Systems developer

Useful Links

Core Skills

Specific skills related to a career in programming include:

• Understanding the technical language and practices of Information Technology
• Confidence with customers and colleagues
• Communication skills
• Leadership skills, business awareness and an understanding of how IT relates to strategic decisions

Job Sites

Average working hours per week

Job Spotlight

Multimedia Programmer

The Role

A multimedia programmer gives a multimedia product its functionality by writing computer programs or creating websites that draw together multimedia features, such as text, sound, graphics, digital photography, 2D/3D modelling, animation and video, according to a designer's specification. Multimedia products work on particular 'platforms', predominantly the internet, as well as interactive television, information kiosks, DVDs, CD-roms, computer games consoles and mobile phones.

Programmers may come from a design or computing background, but the role demands a combination of both creative and technical skills.

The term multimedia is used interchangeably with other terms such as new media, interactive media, digital media, and online/internet services.

A programmer's role includes the following:

• Working with the designer and other creative specialists to understand the design concept and advising on how it can be implemented technically
• Sorting operational logic and business rules
• Writing efficient computer code or script
• Creating and linking databases to the user interface
• Writing HTML or similar input and using authoring packages where appropriate
• Running tests of the application to identify bugs
• Solving the problems by re-writing the code or adding new code which works around the problem
• Providing technical support
• Researching and keeping abreast of emerging technologies

Programmers may become specialised in particular output formats, such as web applications, mobile technologies or interactive television, depending on their range of skills.

Salary:

£25,000 – £30,000 depending on experience

Career Development

With experience, programmers can move into middle management roles, such as team leader, project manager or production manager. Depending on the size and structure of the company, these roles may vary or overlap. Project leaders, responsible for coordinating the work carried out by the various team members and ensuring that the project is completed to deadline, require an all-round skill set encompassing business, content, design and technical competencies.

As the multimedia industry evolves, digital security and online services are predicted to become major growth areas with the opportunity for skilled professionals to work with larger and more diverse audiences in new markets.