You don’t need to be a software or tech specialist to work in the 'Metaverse industry'. All it takes is a splash of curiosity, an ability to think outside the box and bring what you already know. The rush is on to find people with the right skills for the internet’s next chapter.
By Jesse Karjalainen
To put it simply, this big thing – the Metaverse – is at the core an extension of the internet that we know today into a new realm or dimension. It is an evolutionary step-change, which is why the term web3 or Web 3.0 crops up with regularity. The Metaverse is simply the third iteration of the online experience, powered by an exciting array of new technologies.
Unlike the red oceans of the online and social spaces that companies and influencers compete to stand out in every day, the Metaverse is uncharted – literally – territory. And right now, big bets are being placed on marking and claiming digital territory and setting up shop in this new space.
The frenzy of activity is happening partly because there are, as yet, so few players and partly because this is the next digital blue ocean. An analogue analogy is the California Gold Rush of 1848-1855; it is a global race to stake a claim. A digital analogy is going all in as an influencer on TikTok back when it was called Musical.ly (and Gary Vaynerchuk called it correctly, back in 2018 -- get onto Musical.ly!).
The big players are racing to establish the first Metaverse search engine (whatever that will be), the leading Metaverse hangout and social space, the leading 3D virtual store (will it be Amazon, or someone new?), the leading dating site (heaven help us) etc.
New realms equal new skills
While it may be down to entrepreneurs and pioneers with large budgets to forge and build much of this new realm – the hang-outs, the worlds, the spaces and the kit required to exist in it – there are plenty of new roles that are going to be required.
The onset of this step-change means that there are big opportunities for jobs, too. All of the startups and new divisions are clamouring for people with the skills required to not only build but also operate in, the Metaverse. Not just in the future, but right now!
And these jobs aren’t all just in software and tech.
Just like the real and online worlds, the Metaverse needs architects and builders, designers and decorators, accountants and lawyers, as well as consultants and strategists. The Metaverse will require business developers as much as it will tech developers.
The point is this: the race is wide open for those with the requisite experience in the real and online spaces to take their jobs into this next dimension.
It makes sense. Back when companies wanted to start marketing on social media, one half of the two skill sets required was “who knows and understands what social media even is?”. Add that person to a marketer and suddenly two digital marketers are born.
Who understands IP issues and copyright in the virtual world? Lawyers. Who understands how to brand and market in the Metaverse? Marketers and brand managers. Who will decide what these worlds and spaces look like? How do brand guidelines apply in 3D contexts? Ask the designer. Digital clothing requires a clothing designer. There is room for scientists, analysts, educators, tour guides and customer services. Even storytellers and scriptwriters.
In many cases, the application of traditional skills in the virtual realm has not yet been figured out. There is no one with 3 years’ experience in your field in the Metaverse space. So, the only differentiator is having the initiative to be first. Back in the day, the role of social marketing usually went to that young person who knew how Facebook and Twitter worked. These opportunities have come full circle and now is the time to forge your new path. In a new realm. Before everyone else.
A real-life lesson
I remember reading ‘Crushing it’ in 2018, in which Gary Vaynerchuk recommended getting into Musical.ly. I asked around and the only person who knew what it was turned out to be the teenage daughter of a colleague. “What is it? What do you do on it, with it?” I asked.
OK, so it’s an app that lets you create short videos, edit them creatively, add overlay text and pick your own background music? I tried the app. Very complicated, very colourful. I went online to find out more. It was being used by young people aged 10-17.
Ah, sorry Gary, you are a genius and all, but I think I’ll give it a miss. That was in 2018. Now, show me someone not clambering to establish a presence on TikTok.
The lesson here is not to dismiss the Metaverse because “I am not a software developer”, “all that blockchain stuff is all a scam” or “you will never catch me playing stupid computer games”. You can choose to look away, but the Metaverse is already here and it isn’t going away. And just because Musical.ly looked stupid and infantile in my eyes, I could not have foreseen what a global success TikTok would be. (I will leave that to Gary.)
It's time to ‘get’ the Metaverse
For anyone wanting to get involved in the Metaverse, the obvious questions are: How do you get started? What do you need to know? Who do you turn to? These are the right starting points.
To start with, you need to first ‘get’ the Metaverse. You need to understand the broader concepts and how they relate. This means seeing the difference between AR, VR, XR and MR. You need to know the players, the worlds and – in a broad sense – the underlying technologies that enable each of them. You want to know what is currently being done, and what is not. In essence, you are then able to have a conversation about the Metaverse, and then be able to apply it to what you know in terms of your current skill set.
The next thing you will need is that thing that every company is desperate for in the information age: curiosity and a problem solver. You need to be able to translate what you know and be able to see how you could do XYZ in new ways, for new companies. How could the tasks you can do today be applied in a virtual realm?
Last, now you need to reach out. Reach out to people and companies in or entering the space. And ask if you can help. This is your foot in the door. In the same way that “the young person who uses social media” becomes “a digital marketing specialist”, the lawyer who understands intellectual property rights can become the next “Metaverse IP specialist”. The door is well and truly wide open.
The Metaverse will see the emergence of everything from Metaverse designers, Metaverse doctors and Metaverse architects to Metaverse Booth Designers for Metaverse trade shows and conferences. You name it. And all it takes to get a job in the Metaverse industry right now is … to want it. The people who “know a little bit about the Metaverse” are going to be among those who are first through the door.
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Coming up in Part 2, I will look specifically at what Metaverse jobs are available right now and what skills are needed to apply for them, as well as what other types of new roles are likely to be on the horizon.
This is the third article in a newsletter dedicated to musings, insights, observations and pondering about the putative Metaverse. Subscribe for future articles and interviews by the author.
Jesse Karjalainen is a communication and content specialist, as well as an award-winning journalist, author, writer, photographer, designer and illustrator. He lives in Sweden and is the author of ‘Sisu: Resilience Belonging Purpose - The Secrets of Finland's can-do mindset’.
