Posts Tagged Careers
Posted on February 12, 2010 by Tahlent Team
With James Cameron’s film Avatar breaking box-office records the world over, the 3D animation industry has received a big boost. While 3D animation has been around for two decades, the success of films like Finding Nemo and the Shrek series are proof that the best is only yet to come.
According to NASSCOM, India’s gaming industry (specifically, computer games and mobile games) is expected to generate $424 million by the end of 2010. Not surprisingly, many graphic artists and digital technology buffs alike are turning to 3D animation as a career option.
However, does 3D animation offer avenues for just about anyone? How can one carve a rewarding and exciting career in this field?
To answer these questions, it is important to get a good idea of what 3D animation is all about. Simply put, 3D animation involves creating three-dimensional images for the purpose of entertainment, information or interactive experiences.
While it may sound glamorous, learning and perfecting animation techniques takes hours of hard work, dedication and perseverance. To start off, you must have good artistic skills, excellent visual communication skills and competent general knowledge.
Although 3D rendering tools are extremely advanced today, animation is much more than a mechanical skill. It is an art that relies heavily on the imagination. But then again, artistic skills are not sufficient. To be a competitive 3D animator, you must have a good eye for detail, structure and movement. Some 3D artists are specialists in creating environments and textures, while others are lighting experts.
Within the field of 3D animation, there are a variety of specialized roles and functions. On a 3D film project, for instance, you may work as a modeler, layout artist, clean-up artist, scanner operator, digital ink and paint artist, compositor, key-frame animator or a background artist. However, besides its most obvious applications in the business of movies and television, animation offers employment opportunities in advertising, education, electronic publishing and web design, gaming, architecture and interior design, as well as defense (virtual reality).
In India, a number of animation schools offer diplomas and bachelor’s degrees in animation to candidates who have secured a minimum of 45% marks in Class XII. Some noteworthy institutes are Animaster, Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics, Arena Multimedia and Zee Institute of Creative Arts.
Premier institutes like Industrial Design Center (IDC), the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and National Institute of Design (NID) offer postgraduate programs in animation, but these have strict eligibility criteria and admit only graduates of architecture, technology and engineering and fine arts.
With the economy just out of recession, the animation industry is opening up with new jobs. If you think you’re cut out for a career in 3D animation, make up your mind and choose the best course now.
Tags: 3-D animation, 3D artist, 3D movies, 3D rendering, 3D software, advertising, animation courses, animation resources, animation software, animation tutorials, architecture, background artist, Careers, clean-up artist, compositor, defense, designing career, digital ink and paint artist, education, electronic publishing, employment, entertainment, films, gaming, graphic design, interior design, Jobs, key-frame animator, layout artist, media, modeler, scanner operator, skills, Talent, video game design, virtual reality, visual communication, web design
Posted on December 23, 2009 by Tahlent Team
What have you been doing lately?
a) Worrying and praying
b) Gossiping about your ex-boss
c) Networking
If you nodded yes to ‘c’ you’re in good company.
Today job seekers are not the only ones who go online to look for jobs. Most employers have savvied up to the online game and directed their recruiters to scour social and professional networks to spot the best and the brightest.
This, clearly, is good news for those people who “while away time” on the Web. These compulsive networkers who cannot stay away from Facebook, SlideShare, Twitter, Scribd, Youtube or blogs for even a minute are ahead of the rest of the pack in the search for their next job.
But really, is effective networking really about spending all your life online? Perhaps not, but the quality of the time you spend does matter.
Social networks have their relative strengths and weaknesses and your success is determined by how smartly you use their features, and ultimately about how you project yourself.
Here are a few tips to get the most out of social networks:
- Separate personal and work accounts by creating unique identities to be used with each set of audiences.
- Tweak your privacy settings to ensure that your work colleagues don’t see what is meant for your friends.
- Divide your team between job sites and building your social media presence.
- Seek out relevant groups or networks and join them.
- Listen to relevant conversations on your groups or communities and participate in them.
- Seek and showcase recommendations from your superiors and colleagues.
- Create an online portfolio of your work. Make digital copies and upload them to SlideShare (presentations), Flickr (images, artwork and photographs), Scribd (works of text for which you own the copyright), YouTube or Vimeo (videos).
- Tahlent’s unique interface allows you to compile a professional profile by mashing up audio, video and presentation formats and integrating feeds from your Flickr images, SlideShare presentations, Youtube videos and blogs.
- As an extra precaution, make sure that you don’t upload any potentially objectionable content even in your non-work identities.
Soon enough, your presence will be felt.
Tags: Careers, employability, employers, facebook, flickr, job sites, networking, recession, resume, slideshare, social media, Tahlent, talent showcase
Posted on November 9, 2009 by Tahlent Team
Q: What do these drugs have in common – Avastin, Humira, Rituxan, Enbrel, Lantus?
A: By 2014, they are pegged to be the largest-selling drugs in the market.
Avastin, an anti-cancer antibody from biotech giant Genentech (recently acquired by Roche), is at the top of the list. Humira is an anti-inflammatory antibody for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn’s disease from Abbott Labs. Rituxan, an antibody for cancer and arthritis, is owned by Genentech/ Roche. The anti-inflammatory antibody Enbrel sold by Amgen and Wyeth (now part of Pfizer) comes in fourth while Sanofi-Aventis’s diabetes drug Lantus is in fifth place.
All of these are biotech products marketed by mainline pharma companies. The shift towards biotech-derived products represents a significant therapeutic shift, according to Evaluate Pharma. Evaluate also forecasts that over 50 percent of the top 100 drugs in 2014 will be biotech medications, which marks a significant shift from 28 percent in 2008 and 11 percent in 2000. It explains why Big Pharma has been pursuing biotech relentlessly.
Those stepping into a career in Biologics have reason to smile while marketing grads need to put their thinking caps on and get a little perspective. Most cutting-edge drug discovery jobs are in biotech, while the cool drug marketing jobs are going to remain in the small-molecule pharma business.
Either way, opportunity knocks.
Tags: Abbott Labs, Amgen, Avastin, biologics, biotech, Careers, drug discovery, drug manufacturers, drugs, Enbrel, Evaluate pharma, Genentech, Humira, Industry, Jobs, Lantus, Pfizer, pharma, pharma companies, Rituxan, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, Wyeth
Posted on November 4, 2009 by Tahlent Team
In November 2008, Harish met the same fate as many software engineers. His employer, a technology giant based in Bangalore, handed him the pink slip.
For two weeks Harish stayed at home, unable to come to terms with his misfortune. He had no back-up plans and little in terms of savings. The outlook seemed bleak, as calls to job consultants didn’t get past the receptionist. To shore up for the uncertainty looming ahead, Harish sold his three-month-old Zen Estilo and moved to a smaller home. He sold his LCD TV and his iPhone on eBay.
One afternoon he picked up his digital SLR camera, which he had hardly used, and sat down to compose another ‘for sale’ classified ad. It was painful to write it, because Harish had been extremely attached to this camera.
And then, suddenly, an idea struck him.
Harish slapped his laptop shut, picked up his camera, hurriedly packed a rucksack and caught an overnight bus to Hampi. Arriving in Hampi in the morning, he checked into a cheap hotel and freshened up. After breakfast, he stepped out for a stroll through the town and towards the temples and monuments. It was an overcast day, and the light was perfect. He spent the day photographing the monuments and the breathtaking rocky landscapes as well as some market scenes. He took a night bus back to Bangalore the same evening.
He downloaded his photographs to his laptop the next morning and uploaded them to his Flickr account. For the next few days, he continued his job search and forgot all about his photos.
Three days later, he received a comment on one of his pictures. It was from the editor of a travel magazine who wanted to buy the picture for use on his magazine cover.
Harish was pleasantly surprised. Though he had received praise for his photographs earlier, he had never considered the possibility that anyone would have a commercial interest in them. His heart in his mouth, Harish wrote back to the editor, asking him what he would pay.
There was no reply. Harish thought he had offended the editor by asking to be paid for his amateurish photos. Two days later, the editor wrote back apologizing for the delay in responding. He expressed interest in buying three more photographs and offered Rs 3,000 apiece.
Harish couldn’t believe his luck – a trip to Hampi that cost him no more than a thousand rupees had fetched him Rs 12,000! On a friend’s advice, he enrolled for a photography workshop to polish his skills. It was a therapeutic way to spend six harrowing weeks that would have otherwise been spent in a fruitless chase after headhunters.
By the end of the course, Harish’s confidence had grown immeasurably. He set up a website and mustered the courage to offer his photographs to publishers. At first, eight out of ten turned him away, but he soldiered on. Within six months, he was selling about ten pictures a month for anything ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 apiece.
If he had not lost his job, Harish reflected, he would never have found his true calling!
Harish is not alone in being a “lucky victim” of the recession.
MySunnyBalcony, an innovative business engaged in designing and creating innovative garden themes in small enclosed spaces such as apartment balconies, was started by four Bangaloreans in the midst of the recession. They followed their hobby – gardening – with passion and zeal when the economy was looking down.
Similarly, many risk-takers have taken advantage of the recession to exit the boredom of corporate life and focus on their hobbies and interests, eventually turning them into successful careers. Not surprisingly, the recession has engendered unusual careers such as bartending, DJing, floristry, jewelry designing, sports coaching, teaching swimming or music, coffee/wine/tea tasting, freelance writing and web designing.
Smart, determined people see an opportunity in anything – even a recession. For them, crisis is just another avenue to chase their dreams. Making the shift takes guts, drive and an extra helping of self-belief but it is possible to make the most of your recession if you look within to find your calling. Your hobby can be your passport to an unusual, satisfying and rewarding career. When the economy springs back, you will find yourself happier and wealthier in more ways than one.
Do you have a similar success story to relate? Share it with us by posting it as a comment.
Tags: bartending, Careers, coffee tasting, designing, DJing, economy, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, floristry, freelance writing, hobbies, Indian Professionals, music, recession, Talent, Talent Community, Talent Network, tea tasting, unusual careers, wine tasting
