If your career wish list involves working in a field experiencing explosive growth, being on the cutting edge of seriously cool technology, and putting all your tech skills to work in exciting and still-uncharted territory, you might want to consider a career in virtual reality.
Virtual reality software took in about $407 million in 2016; that number is predicted to climb as high as $14 billion by 2020, according to VentureBeat. That kind of growth means that job prospects are very good for those considering the field of virtual reality.
VR Companies Band Together with GVRA
Heavy hitters in the VR field recently banded together to form a non-profit dedicated to the advancement of virtual reality technology. The non-profit, known as the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA) states its mission this way:
“GVRA’s mission is to promote responsible development and adoption of VR globally with best practices, dialogue across stakeholders, and research. GVRA will be a resource for industry, consumers, and policymakers interested in VR.”
Current member companies include:
- Acer Starbreeze
- HTC Vive
- Facebook’s Oculus
- Samsung
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
Thought Leaders in the Field of Virtual Reality
For additional insight and inspiration, here are some of the notable influencers in the VR world today:
Rick King: With a Twitter following of over 267,000, King is an acknowledged VR thought leader. His experience as a technology consultant, graphic designer, software programmer, mobile app designer, and Unity 3D programmer make him one of the most well-rounded VR developers anywhere.
Manuel Clément: Clément, Senior UX designer and prototyper on Google’s VR team, understands clearly that future consumer adoption of VR technology rests largely on the quality of the user experience. His work in VR UX sets a high bar for other designers in the field.
Roy Taylor: Corporate Vice President Alliances at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Taylor is an outspoken proponent of the vast potential of virtual reality in gaming and entertainment. One reason for his interest is obvious, as AMD is one of the leading CPU and GPU chip makers. However, his passion for VR goes much further than just AMD’s bottom line, and that passion shows in interview after interview on the subject of the transformative nature of VR.
Palmer Luckey: A devout evangelist for virtual reality, Luckey is best known for inventing the Oculus Rift, the famous VR headset display that captured the attention of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who promptly bought Luckey’s company for a cool $2 billion. (Note: He’s been fairly quiet lately due to some unfortunate PR issues, but as the inventor of Oculus, he remains a significant voice in the field.)
Other notable experts to follow for exciting developments in VR are: Michael Abrash, Oculus chief scientist; Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games and creator of ZZT, Unreal and Unreal Engine; and John Carmack, CTO of Oculus VR.
Top Companies and Locations for Virtual Reality Jobs
According to data gathered by Paysa, top companies hiring tech talent for virtual reality projects include:
- Nvidia
- AMD
- Magic Leap
- Oculus VR
- Unity Technologies
- World Vision
Top locations for virtual reality tech specialists include:
- Santa Clara, CA
- Austin, TX
- Menlo Park, CA
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- San Francisco, CA
- Sunnyvale, CA
- Dania Beach, FL
- Redmond, WA
- Orlando, FL
- Mountain View, CA
Education and Skills Required for VR Jobs
VR jobs may require a variety of technical skills and educational levels. What is needed is largely dependent upon which VR niche is your chosen focus.
Top skills sought after by hiring managers and recruiters include:
- C
- Hardware
- Programming
- Graphics
- Computer Science
- Communication
- Analysis
- Management
- Research
- Software Development
Programming languages you will likely need to know are C#, C++, and JavaScript. Additionally, familiarity with game engines Unity and Unreal, as well as Google Cardboard or Oculus, is preferred. Monster.com gives this advice:
“If you’re interested in the software side of the industry, you need experience designing and developing with 3D modeling software, programming experience with C/C++, game development or graphics programming.”
Many VR developers take advantage of Udacity’s Nanodegree programs in Programming and Android Developer, along with other VR-related skills courses such as Interactive 3D Graphics, Computational Photography, and Introduction to Computer Vision.
In addition to this more formal method of skill building, there is the tried and true method of personal tinkering to learn the ins and outs of VR technology. Personal research and development of VR apps will help you work out the kinks in your skills and keep your problem-solving abilities sharp. In some cases, the best recommendation you can provide to a prospective employer is to share personal VR projects on which you have been working.
If you are in need of even more inspiration, consider networking with others in the field. VirtualRealityPop.com advises:
“There are a ton of VR and AR groups located all across the globe where people are gathering together to share knowledge, show their demos, and meet people in their local community. If you’ve never even experienced VR or AR, you can go to a local meetup and try them out for the first time. Local meetups are a great chance to ask questions, make industry connections, and connect with local artists, designers and developers who will be happy to share their process and methods with you.”
Salary and Compensation for Top VR Job Titles
Based on Paysa data gathered from thousands of tech companies across the nation, here are some of the top jobs available in virtual reality today, along with their average salary and compensation data.
Design Engineer: The average base salary for design engineers is $82.6K, and the average market salary is $109K per year, which includes $82.6K base salary, $11.6K annual bonus and $14.3K annual equity. 65 percent of design engineer jobs require a bachelor’s degree, 32 percent require a master’s degree, and 6 percent require a doctorate. Top skills required include Engineering, Matlab, Verilog, Microsoft Office, and Testing.
Design engineer salaries.
Embedded Software Engineer: The average base salary for an embedded software engineer is $86.1K, and the average market salary is $115K per year, which includes $86.1K base salary, $12K annual bonus and $17K annual equity. 64 percent of embedded software engineer jobs require a bachelor’s degree, 24 percent require a master’s degree, and 6 percent require a doctorate. Top skills required include Embedded Systems, C, C++, Embedded Software, Software Development, and Software Engineering.
Embedded software engineer salaries
Hardware Engineer: The average base salary for hardware engineers is $91.4K, and the average market salary is $127K per year, which includes $91.4K base salary, $15.7K annual bonus and $20.2K annual equity. 59 percent of hardware engineer jobs require a bachelor’s degree, 30 percent require a master’s degree, and 6 percent require a doctorate. Top skills required include Embedded Systems, Hardware, Verilog, C, Testing, and Matlab.
Hardware engineer salaries
Software Engineer: The average base salary for software engineers is $91.7K, and the average market salary is $139K per year, which includes $91.7K base salary, $15.6K annual bonus and $31.6K annual equity. 62 percent of software engineer jobs require a bachelor’s degree, and 26 percent require a master’s degree. Top skills required include Java, JavaScript, SQL, C++, Software Development, and Linux.
Software engineer salaries
Product Manager: The average base salary for product managers is $99.1K, and the average market salary is $143K per year, which includes $99.1K base salary, $15.7K annual bonus and $28.4K annual equity. 63 percent of product manager positions require a bachelor’s degree and 29 percent require a master’s degree. Top skills required include Product Management, Product Development, Product Marketing, Project Management, and Marketing.
Product manager salaries
Principal Engineer: The average base salary for principal engineers is $124K, and the average market salary is $174K per year, which includes $124K base salary, $18.8K annual bonus and $30.4K annual equity. 56 percent of principal engineer jobs require a bachelor’s degree, 31 percent require a master’s degree, and 9 percent require a doctorate. Top skills required include Software Development, Software Engineering, Linux, C, Engineering, and Embedded Systems.
Principal engineer salaries
Finding Your VR Dream Job
The field of virtual reality is experiencing major growth. Because the technology is expanding rapidly, demand exceeds supply for top tech talent right now. If you would like to explore different VR career paths, Paysa can help. Simply visit Paysa.com today to find information about the skills you will need and the compensation you can expect in this exciting new field!
Learn VR development with the VR Developer Nanodegree Program from Udacity.