Arts
There are different formats to working in the art world including painting, sculpting and performance pieces. As an artist you will spend a large proportion of time creating and formulating ideas, perhaps writing or sketching ideas, and this may include working to a brief. You will need to research your ideas and engage in project management work, buying materials, writing proposals, organising funding and managing budgets. Then you will also have to liaise with galleries so that your work can be displayed, promote events and negotiate sales and commissions. There is a wide variety of tasks to be undertaken focusing on creativity and people skills that will enable you to become a successful artist.

Entertainment
Working in the entertainment industry means that a great deal of your time will be spent practicing, rehearsing and learning, whether you are in music, film, TV or dance. You will normally be working towards a performance and often making money from this will be essential, so you will need to plug and advertise your shows. Another element to the role will be to maintain equipment and performance areas: looking after props and instruments will be an important part of your build up to a performance. Working in music and drama you may well have to be involved in the sourcing and locating of places to perform.

Media
Depending on what your expertise is, your job role will be very different.

Animators
Animators work in four areas: development, pre-production, production and post production. In development early ideas are formed to be approved before the pre-production stage. Here storyboards based on the script together with character concepts and backgrounds need to be developed. These will be used to pitch ideas to move into the production phase. In production, you will move into the actual creation of the animation to form a moving image. In post-production there are editing roles scoring roles as well as animation-related quality checking. Whether your speciality is 2D, 3D or stop motion animation, these phases will apply. Often you will start as an animator working to a brief, but as you progress you may be given the opportunity to develop your own ideas as a producer or director.

Computer games
The computer games industry is becoming increasingly complex with the arrival of ever more powerful computers. The days of a single person writing code, designing levels and doing the artwork are long gone. Now teams of each must come together with project managers and directors deciding the direction of a games studio.

As a result, it is a very expensive business. You will have to put your expertise to use alongside that of others with only a few respected people having complete creative control over their ideas. As well as coders, designers and artists, the entry level roles also include testers who make sure there are no bugs or errors in a game. Again, the opportunity exists to move up the ladder for more managerial roles, but that will only come with time.

Film
Everyone knows what it means to be an actor, producer or director in the film industry, but there are plenty of other roles if these are not for you. In development, for example, scriptwriters work closely with producers to come up with a draft of a film before it heads into pre-production. Location scouts find ideal places to film, storyboard artists give a sense of the action and engineers design and build sets. In production, wardrobe, make-up, sound and camera experts will be needed.

In post-production you might be an editor or score the soundtrack while others deal with distribution, exhibition and promotion of the finished product. To get a sense of where you might fit in behind the scenes, or to get that first break, you will probably want to try working as a runner. You probably won’t get paid but it is ideal for making contacts and opening a few doors to paid work in the future. Do not expect overnight success, however.

Radio
Although radio is often overlooked in favour of television and the Internet for entertainment and information, the spoken word of the radio is a popular choice for in-depth and intelligent discussion. Radio cannot resort to pictures to fill in gaps, and its live broadcasting encourages debate between presenters, guests and the public. Presenters need to be able to keep an audience engaged by being able to think fast, talk clearly and express themselves.

Behind the scenes, the usual array of producers, technicians and editors will be putting together the programmes under the guidance of directors choosing the way they want the radio station to develop. The majority of work is done in-house at radio stations rather than licensed from elsewhere. There are also sales roles for on-air advertising that require the qualities outlined below.

Television
There are three general areas to television: content production, technical production and administration support, in addition to the more obvious role of presenting. Content roles include producer, director, researcher and writer who put together the show. On the technical side, roles include camera, sound, lighting, editing, art and engineering.

More conventional roles are in the admin support area, with personal assistants, secretaries and managerial positions. There would be no television without advertising or sponsorship, both key roles to keep funding for the vast number of commercial channels available.