Gaining Creative Career Experience Online

In the digital age, there are more creative employment opportunities available than ever before. Unfortunately, there is also more competition for these opportunities than ever before, making it difficult for newcomers to gain a foothold in an area they’re interested in. Fortunately, online solutions can help pave the way for serious long-term careers.

Having experienced this ourselves and witnessed many others go through the process, we want to explore the mindset and approach that can help build your portfolio for your creative future. With time and patience the sky can be the limit, so don’t underestimate what’s possible and how far you could go.

Opening a Critical Eye

A key part of finding opportunities as an artist is to take a broader view of what goes into digital projects. For example, consider a basic example that casino fans see all the time when playing table games online. If we look at this website and games like roulette, blackjack, and craps, there's a huge number of creative pursuits that contribute to their creation. Music, digital art, user interface and experience, customisation for mobile and computer devices, each component requires significant input from a range of creative disciplines.

This understanding needs to be measured against the idea that, if you're gaining experience, odds are you won't be doing what you start working with forever. If you're not interested in taking a specific approach with a creative pursuit permanently, look at how it can grow you as a creative, as you step outside of your wheelhouse and face new challenges.

Finding Work and Starting Out

Looking for work online means investing in and being comfortable with the right tools. If you’re a visual artist, this can mean hardware with drawing tablets and managing professional experience with common programs like Photoshop. The same is true in music, where both hardware and software systems need to be understood and practised long before you seek professional work.

Work itself can be found on employment websites like Upwork or Freelancer. Some of these cater more to established professionals, so it’s best to start with services like Upwork which offer opportunities for newcomers too. Be sure to sort by verified businesses, to avoid any risk of scams.

For your very first steps, you'll also want to consider short jobs, even if they're underpaid. Once you have a few projects under your belt you'll find much greater success in further opportunities, so you can abandon this approach. You never want to be stuck in the dreaded instance of "working for the experience" alone, so only commit short-term to projects that can't reimburse you properly, and only ever when you start out.

Like searching for a job in the physical world, the rest is up to patience and diligence. As painful as it can be to have opportunities turned down, you never know when the perfect fit is right around the corner. Remember: a flooded market doesn’t mean you’re not great at what you do, so don’t be disheartened by failures. Every creative but the most fortunate had to struggle to get where they are, so keep at it, and good luck.