If you are interested in a job where you get the chance to think creatively, and influence how other people think or act, then working in the communications and media industry is the place to be. TV, radio, advertising and social media is a part of daily life for most people and there is a wide variety of careers in these sectors for people with the right skills.
There are many different types of careers to choose from in this sector, including: advertising, marketing and public relations (PR); journalism; media and broadcasting; and publishing and writing.
To see the routes to getting into each of these sectors, take a look at our Career Pathway.
For some careers such as TV or journalism, you would work for a specific type of company, but in areas such as PR and marketing you could be working for a company in any type of industry.
Possible employers include:
Entry is very competitive for jobs in all of these sectors, so you will need determination and persistence to get into many careers. Short term contracts and freelance work are common, except in marketing and printing.
According to the latest figures, there were 197,000 people working in the UK advertising and marketing industries in 2020, compared to 190,000 in 2019. In 2022, the UK advertising industry is expected to be worth a record £29 billion, a rise of 7.2%.
The UK publishing industry is the largest exporter of books in the world, reporting an annual turnover of £6.4 billion in 2020 (a 2% increase from 2019). It directly employs 29,000 people and supports more than 70,000 jobs. According to Publishing Scotland, there are over 100 publishing companies in Scotland, mostly based in the central belt – some are large firms, and part of global corporations, such as HarperCollins, while many others are very small - yet successful - prize winning firms.
The world of journalism encompasses both print and online media content. In 2021 there were 110,000 journalists working in the UK, an increase from 99,600 in 2020. The popularity of online digital content keeps opportunities open for other roles in publishing, such as web content creation, web copywriting and content management.
The UK film and TV industry has shown signs of recovery since the first pandemic shutdown, with around £1.8 billion spent on film productions between October 2020 and September 2021, and £4.14 billion on TV productions. This is almost double the pre-pandemic spend.
Film, video and TV programme post production in the UK has a market size of £2 billion, 3,331 business and employment of 14,126.
ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills charity for the screen industries. Find out more about various careers by visiting their website www.screenskills.com.
The BBC have a great careers section with information about getting into the industry via work experience, trainee schemes and apprenticeships. Check out the site at www.bbc.co.uk/careers/trainee-schemes-and-apprenticeships.
MeCCSA UK
