Metaverse jobs are among the most significant roles in modern IT. The software, hardware and 3D modelling positions that underpin the metaverse are among the most exciting and important jobs around.
You can think of the word ‘metaverse’ as a descriptor for the interconnected virtual worlds currently being designed and deployed by various software companies. In fact, software designers have been creating virtual worlds for a long time, but instead of being experienced simply on flat screens, users can now become almost totally immersed in these environments, enveloped by experiences that can mirror our own world or take us to entirely imaginary realms. And because they are 3D worlds viewed through virtual reality headsets, the sense of immersion is unparalleled.
Another way to experience this new realm is augmented reality, a term which refers to overlays of virtual elements onto the real world using mobile devices or gaming consoles. This isn’t speculation, by the way, the metaverse is here already, but we’re only at the beginning of its evolution, and the jobs that will help it to evolve to the next level may not even exist yet.
The term metaverse was first coined by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson in his 1997 novel Snow Crash, and technology has been catching up with his ground-breaking vision ever since.
Virtual reality headsets have been around for many years, but the older, clunkier designs which could easily make viewers feel travel sick have given way to sleeker and more sophisticated alternatives that are so unobtrusive you can almost forget that you are wearing them.
One part of the driving force behind the mass adoption of metaverses has been the online gaming community. Gaming used to just be an amateur pastime with a slightly nerdy image problem, but nowadays there are millions of players and fans worldwide and a thriving international competitive gaming community. The metaverse offers yet another online opportunity for the readymade audience of gamers to migrate to.
When Facebook, one of the biggest social media platforms in the world became Meta, it signalled that the technology was here to stay. But it’s not the only company out there and DecentWorld, Decentraland and Sandbox are already on stage. Just like with the early years of the Internet we will see a whole host of companies come along and stake their claim with many falling by the wayside and just one or two rising to the top. But that’s okay, because along the way you are likely to gain excellent experience to support your metaverse career.
An ever-evolving metaverse requires a huge amount of input from a variety of professions. Here are some of the most important roles that need to be filled in order to bring this vision to fruition:
3D game design has paved the way for the current iteration of the metaverse. It consists of many roles, including modelling, animation, programming, illustration, audio design, lighting, map design and more. Those kinds of skills are readily transferable to metaverse settings which require not just similar environments to 3D games, but also games that work within them.
Advertising has traditionally delivered its messages to potential customers via TV, radio, print etc. But all of these are mediums that are non-immersive and almost always passive. Now though, in the metaverse, brands can recreate all of those approaches and more in the virtual space, and they also go one step further by crafting narratives about products and services that the audience becomes involved in and engages with, possibly as quests.
Marketing specialists in this new environment will focus on coming up with new ways to introduce potential customers to products and buy them securely via the metaverse’s cryptocurrency. And the beauty of it is that they won’t need to leave that environment, which can be distracting.
This kind of creative marketing is a job for visionaries who understand how to engage audiences, but the transition will be helped immensely by listening to thought leaders on the metaverse and investing in metaverse education that explores these topics.
Software engineers need to be adept with ubiquitous lower-level languages like C++ and higher-level languages like JavaScript or Python. An affinity with 3D engines like Unreal and 3D software such as Maya and Blender will also come in handy. User experience work is also of benefit because the ultimate goal is to make the whole thing as smooth as possible so that users can engage fully with the metaverse with a minimum of guidance.
Software engineers with virtual and augmented reality skills are needed to recreate the physics of the real world in virtual environments so that characters and objects behave familiarly and predictably. This kind of attention to detail helps to heighten the sense of immersion.
Product managers do some of the most important work in this rapidly expanding industry. They have some responsibility for pushing product development and resolving different pre-production problems.
This role frequently functions as a link between engineers, product specialists, and other kinds of designers. This makes it a high-profile metaverse career option requiring some robust communication skills to share ideas across teams. It’s not always essential for product managers to have experience with programming, but the additional insight can be helpful. It’s a not uncommon route to take for programmers who want to transition from development to management.
Everything you see within the metaverse has been designed by a digital artist. Every element that you see within these environments started life as an idea in someone’s head. But within those environments, we are also seeing virtual art galleries in which virtual art in the form of NFTs is being bought and sold and each of these items has also been designed by a digital artist.
The idea behind NFTs is that while the images themselves can still be copied, the proofs of ownership reside in the blockchain, and so they provide indelible proof of ownership. As a bonus, NFTs can include smart contracts that automatically facilitate guaranteed payments to the artist creator every time the artwork changes hands in future.
The blockchain Is what might be called the backbone of many metaverse setups. It’s the crucial foundation on which the whole thing sits which makes the blockchain developer’s role one of the most crucial. It facilitates the transfer of value and guarantees the security of every transaction, so every line of code has to be watertight.
Blockchain developers need to be highly skilled with considerable experience in software debugging, development, and analysis. The more platforms and programming languages they are familiar with, the better, and they would also require an understanding of system selection and operating architecture integration.
Of course, all this software needs to run on something which is where hardware engineers come in. Their job is to create the sensors, headsets and cameras that help users to interact. The sensors are needed to translate virtual touch into physical touch. The cameras can gauge your mood and replicate it on your avatar. Headsets give you the illusion of being inside an environment so that when you move your head your view changes realistically. On top of that, there are also inertial measurement units, visual light cameras, and depth cameras to help with tracking, mapping, localization, and more, which means that hardware engineers have plenty of scope for where they want to specialize.
At the moment, the full potential of the metaverse is being held back by the expense of some of these components, which are extremely sophisticated and very costly. One of the roles of hardware engineers will be to get the most out of affordable components, and we can only hope in time that the march of technology and mass adoption help to bring down prices.
User interface (UI/UX) designers are responsible for ensuring that the software is easy to learn and easy to use. They design and test menus and interfaces that make interaction with the software as straightforward and enjoyable as possible. It’s one of those roles that’s easy to overlook but we can all remember those occasions when an interface completely baffled us or didn’t seem intuitive. The best UI/UX designers understand human behaviour and psychology, and they use their knowledge to shape the best possible user experience.
Community managers work for companies who want to use the social aspect of the metaverse to engage with existing and potential customers. Consumers now expect to be able to engage with companies directly, so managers must have a considered approach to these interactions. All the good work that goes into brand building can be undone in moments by a poorly handled situation, so community managers focus on working with people in a place that preserves and enhances brand value.
Apart from the specific skills required to do some of the metaverse jobs that we’ve already covered, successful candidates will also need to demonstrate certain qualities.
Since this is a relatively new area that is also fast-moving, candidates need to be ready to put in adequate research. If you can demonstrate that despite not being an expert you are someone who is curious enough to spend time on their own metaverse education and some of its key concepts then you will significantly boost your chances of securing that dream job.
It will help if you can confidently define VR and AR, and you will also gain points for being able to elaborate on the way that metaverse components overlap with each other. For instance, unique art assets, virtual real estate and cryptocurrencies are all dependent on the blockchain.
The metaverse consists of many interconnected components, and it will help if you can demonstrate an understanding of this aspect of the system’s underlying architecture. You may only be interested in working on one small corner of this environment, but by showing that you grasp the whole, potential employers will be reassured that you have valuable additional perspectives.
So, it’s worth looking into tokenomics, DeFi, IoT, NFTs, and blockchain technology. Many metaverse innovations are reliant on one or more of these foundational elements.
The metaverse is the latest iteration of social networking platforms, and securing a job in this nascent industry will be a lot easier if you put the effort into networking with others interested in or working in this field. You can meet them at metaverse-related events, and you should put some time into fostering relationships as they could lead to useful introductions and possibly job recommendations further down the line. Networking is so important because as social creatures when we trust someone we are also more likely to trust the people that they trust. So, it’s important to win trust if you want others to trust (and maybe hire) you!
You could begin to establish a reputation by helping out in metaverse community discussions, games, launches, and get-togethers. Some of the biggest cheerleaders for the metaverse are the people who are personally involved in developing it, so by aligning yourself with them and showing enthusiasm for their projects you are much more likely to form powerful professional bonds that can benefit your career.
DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) are also worth mentioning within the context of a metaverse career. Any organization can use the programmable nature of the blockchain to automate many of its functions. it gives organizations a way of cutting down on bureaucracy, so blockchain experts may find developer work in this area to be a rewarding career path.
Web 3.0 and the metaverse rely on several of the same foundational technologies, including a focus on decentralization and trust using the blockchain. Lots of Web 3.0 services are tied into the metaverse in such a way that you can think of it as an implementation of Web 3.0 technology, similar to the way that website building relies on Web 2.0 technology.
This rapidly evolving field is still in its infancy but seems to offer unlimited potential. So, now would seem to be the ideal time to invest in your own metaverse education. In time there may be exams in metaverse technology that you can take, which will better prepare you to dive in and explore the career potential of what looks set to be the next great leap forward in social platforms.