In the Business section of the The Miami Herald there’s an article about the high demand of Flash Developers. I’m only mentioning it because I haven’t found Flash or Flash developers making the news outside of technical magazines and websites very often.
I like the slant that the article took by picking to highlight a developer who came to the field without a technical background – like so many of us. It’s a story that many people might read and think, “Why not me?”
Times are hard and lots of people have lost their jobs. Just today Motorola cut 4,000 jobs. Many of them will need to find new careers. Flash Platform developers/designers get good wages and benefits. And the best part is that you can do it all on your own. All someone would need to do is get the software, grab a few books, watch a few videos and start learning. It’s easy to do when you enjoy it. I know it’s possible because many of the people in this field did it just that way. Case in point: my degree is in philosophy and history, like that has anything to do with programming.
I feel that the demand for Flash Platform Developers/Designers is so great that the industry is being held back by the scarcity of people who can do the work. And if you think the demand is high now just wait a few years when, hopefully, the economy is picking up again.
Thanks for such encouragement. I used to work for international financial bank in which I recently left due to the fact my position was being off-shored to China. In the process I lost my home and alot of financial stability. I ended up dipping into my retirement funds just so I could go back to school but feel it's worth it. I have always had a secret interest in Flash and web design and development and will now be spending the next few years reeducating myself through a new degree, self-study, and certifications. What better time to go back, take a break from the daily work grind, have fun being artistic and creative, and best of all really spend time learning the Flash Platform. I'm very glad flash developers/designers will be in high demand. It only makes sense, seeing the web move more progressively towards highly visually engaging and interactive experiences.
Cheers!
@Paul, that's the spirit! Let me know if I can be of any help. I would like to do more video tutorials soon that focus on helping people who are just getting started in this field. I'd love to hear any suggestions you may have.
Just have a look at Open Screen project… If it continues growing, and nothing can tell us that is not going to happen, it will definitely create a huge demand of Flash and Flex developers.
Flash has the opportunity to be what Java could be.
@Alejandro, you speak truth. Yeah, if the Open Screen project takes off we'll be in much higher demand.
I think this is pretty badly underestimating what flash development entails. There are people who have tinkered with flash and can use a couple of third party libraries to create effects, but very few people are "true" flash developers who approach it from a software engineers perspective. Unfortunately many companies don't know the difference, which explains the glut of badly coded flash I keep running into at every turn ;)
@Vansu, I agree. I think it takes a developer to know a developer. If a company doesn't have a dev on staff then how can they possibly hope to conduct a meaningful interview? Hey, maybe that's a new niche job. Companies can hire me to help them interview candidates.