London is one of the creative centres of the world. It has a long-held reputation as a centre of excellence for creative industries including theatre and performing arts, design, architecture, broadcasting, designer fashion, fine art, advertising, film and music.
The creative industries not only help make London a dynamic, exciting and stimulating place to live and work, they also make a huge contribution to the city's economy. Over 400,000 creative professionals live and work in London, generating over £18 billion sales a year.
London is a recognised leader in many creative fields and continues to attract companies and creative individuals from all over the world. For students considering their career options, one of the attractions of working in the creative industries is the sheer range of different jobs available.
Depending on which area of the industry you are interested in, there are different training routes to consider. Professional qualifications are available for specific jobs, for instance journalism, and it increasingly rare for journalists not to have at least one Higher Education degree.
However, employers in this sector often put a greater emphasis on experience, ideas and personality, than a particular level of study or set of academic achievements. As a result many courses offer a practical element, and students are encouraged to gain as much experience as possible. Qualifications are often not as important as entrepreneurship and resilience.
If you enjoy making, performing or communicating, designing, drawing or creating anything, then the creative industries could be for you.
There are many careers to consider in this industry, beyond the more familiar ones. For example, broadcasting companies require many different staff, not just presenters and programme makers.
Video library assistants look after the huge collection of material generated by a television or radio channel and make sure correct footage can be found quickly.
Many companies have internal communications departments, where graphic design skills can be very valuable. The industry also includes new areas like interactive media, web design and gaming, which offer many exciting opportunities.
Some who work in the industry do not regard their job as a choice they've made, as much as the only thing they have ever wanted to do.
It can be competitive, but despite a reputation for often placing an importance on who you know above what you know, these industries can be seen to be meritocratic. What matters is ideas and the ability and opportunity to present them. In the case of one area of the creative industries, broadcasting, this may be supported by the fact that out of the top 100 richest people, 98 were self-made. However, not all jobs in the creative industries are necessarily so lucrative, and while some areas of this sector are very well paid, others are not.
