Jack of All Multimedia, Specialized in None

I was enrolled in Lim Kok Wing Institute of Creative Technology (LICT – not University then) for a 3 + 1 course. I spent 3 years in Malaysia and had to complete my degree in RMIT, Australia after. I had always wanted to be a website designer ever since I was 13 and even as a kid, I made big plans for myself.

I don’t know why but I always thought the US will be a great place for me to learn about website design and eventually allow me to work there. However, after graduating from high school I rejected my parents offer to study in the US and instead pursued my college life in Malaysia. I do think back if I should’ve gone to the US and pursue my dream.

When I was studying in LICT, we were trained in multimedia. The definition of multimedia as Wikipedia wrote is a combination of content forms.

It’s a mixture of different media:

• Text
• Audio
• Still images
• Animation
• Video
• Interactive

The whole course covered all aspects of multimedia from normal digital imaging to videography. We were trained in various software to achieve required results in order to collect enough credits to pass each semester. Honestly, it was very tough not because there were tight deadlines but because there were many assignments that required different skillsets.

The demand of many skillsets was too daunting in my semester and it didn’t allow me or any of us to be able to focus on what we really loved. My friends who loved 3D modeling and animation didn’t have enough time to learn everything let alone complete assignments. I didn’t have a chance to focus on website design because it was grouped as an interactive module.

Thankfully by the last 2 semesters we were going to complete, the LICT board decided to change the learning process. They gave the opportunity to students to pick a media to major in.

This was the smartest and best move all of us were happy with. Now we can choose our passion and dedicate our time and attention fully on what we enjoy doing and creating. This time everyone produced work that was on par with the previous seniors or greater.

I, of course took the Interactive major but ended continuing my own research and studies of website design because the major dedicated more to the process of coming up with other interactive projects like games, interactive CDs and etc.

When I was completing my degree in Melbourne, I learnt far more about website design and related subjects than the whole time I was in LICT. Being a jack of all trades and a master of none doesn’t limit you to job opportunities, but it does affect your qualification for some positions because you don’t have the real necessary experience.

A clear example are website designers today. Even students trained in graphic design are now considered as website designers by employers. That isn’t right because although a website designer is of the design family, their skillsets are related to technical aspects as well.

Is your graphic designer fluent and clearly understands HTML? Does your graphic designer know the difference < b > and < strong >? And nowadays in the US, the requirements are even that a website designer must have an understanding in Javascript.

Lately, a friend of mine said he pushed away almost all graduates applying for his company because the only skillset they have of HTML, CSS and Javascript is the cut-and-paste.

Needless to say, slack less and start thinking ahead in high school. Discover your passion and determine your specialization. Be a credible if not certified specialist that employers will want to employ you.

Don’t be a jack of multimedia and specialized in none.

[tags]Multimedia Course, Website Design, Lim Kok Wing, Education, Career[/tags]