Top Skills to Succeed in the Virtual Reality Industry

Virtual Reality or VR is a simulated 3D environment that lets users experience and interact with virtual surroundings that approximate reality perceived through the users' senses. VR is not just for entertainment, it is also an important tool for education, commerce, science, etc. There are 3 types of vr: 

Non-Immersive Virtual Reality

A common VR category featuring a computer-generated virtual environment where the user simultaneously remains aware and controlled by their physical environment. Video games are a prime example of this category. 

Semi-Immersive Virtual Reality

This category provides an experience partially based on a virtual environment. It is apt for training and educational purposes with graphical computing and large projector systems. Example of such VR are flight simulators used for trainees in aviation.

Fully Immersive Virtual Reality

This category generates the most realistic simulation experience, including sight, sound, and sometimes olfactory sensations. Car racing games are one example of this type of VR. Fully Immersive VR is a field which is still developing. 

From games to entertainment, you can find VR almost everywhere. Here are some industries where VR is being used:

• Healthcare: The healthcare industry is using VR in surgery to enable surgeons to interact with medical devices in VR and practice surgery on virtual bodies. This helps to increase their familiarity with new devices and proficiency in implanting them. 
   
• Retail: Metaverse is set to change the face of online shopping. Thanks to VR retail experiences and body-scanning technology, clothes can be tried out in VR like in-person trials. This is a time-saving technique that can help reduce the environmental cost of production and the expenses incurred in shipping fast fashion.
   
• Automotive Industry: VR saves the automotive industry millions by reducing the number of prototypes built per vehicle line. It allows designers and engineers to easily experiment with the look and build of a vehicle before commissioning expensive prototypes. .
   
• Tourism: During Covid-19, many were unable to visit the world popular tourist destinations, scenic views, and landmarks in person. But thanks to VR, they could visit them while sitting at home! VR technology can be used to experience a holiday without actually going on one! It saves time and money without comprising on the experience
   
• Architecture: The architecture industry is changing because of VR. When a renovation work is processed in VR, the clients can be shown how their living space will look like after the alteration. Even though architects use 3D models to design prototypes, immersive tools help them understand and explore the dimension of space to the maximum extent possible. 

VR is gaining popularity and has a huge scope for growth. Its valuation was $21.83 billion in 2021. It is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15% from 2022 to 2030. The number of users in the VR market is expected to be around 505.3 million by 2027. 

In India, the Augmented Reality (AR) and VR market is booming for multiple reasons, including technological advancements, increased digitalization, penetration of Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) in the gaming and entertainment sectors following COVID-19, etc. Continuous growth in this sector is being fueled by emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, etc. 

VR is a skill-driven industry. Here is a list of skills that will surely help you to become a successful VR professional:

• Programming Skills: As a VR Professional, you might have to develop games. This will only be possible if you have some experience in basic programming. Proficiency in programming languages like Java, C#, Swift, Javascript etc, is necessary. You also must be familiar with inheritance, abstraction, encapsulation, etc. 
   
• 3D Modeling and Animation: Those entering the VR industry must be well experienced in prototypes and tools like Maya, Blender and Cinema4D. These prototypes are helpful for VR professionals to show and communicate their idea to their clients without wasting time and resources. 
   
• UX Design Knowledge: One of the tasks required of a VR professional is to ensure a great user experience. This can only be achieved by having a good understanding of UX Design. Familiarity with various topics like interaction design principles, usability, design thinking process, storytelling, etc is also helpful.
   
• Extended Reality: Extended Reality (XR) surrounds all the real and virtual world environments created by computer graphics. Thus, a basic understanding of it is important.
   
• Machine Learning and Computer Vision: XR works on Computer Vision algorithms abstracted away in methods and functions of existing Software Development Kits (SDKs). There is a lot of research in this field regarding optimizing plane searching, depth mapping, occlusion features, etc. These features can be tricky to develop, so you must know about Machine Learning (ML) and Computer Vision.
   
• Software Development Kits: These are important for developing various applications, and they might differ according to the app’s feature requirements and your present code architecture. There are different SDKs like ARKit, ARFoundation, Vuforia, etc. SDKs in VR are used in headsets such as Oculus, HTC Vive, etc.

VR is growing and has a lot of potential career opportunities. With the right set of skills, you can easily pursue any of these jobs and get a handsome salary. Here is a list of careers in this field:

• Unity Developer: Unity Developers are responsible for developing the foundation of a VR application or game. They must communicate with the designers and implement their features in the game. Their job involves taking the design specification and turning it into an in-engine reality with Unity. 
   
• UX/UI Designers: To build a good app, it is important to work on user experience and interface. UX/UI Designers must thus be familiar with the latest technologies and trends in UI. These designers focus on the user's visual experience and determine how a user interacts with an interface in a game, app, or website. The UX Designers make a game, video or app usable and accessible.
   
• VR Game Engineer: VR Game Engineers create interactive content like games, videos, and applications. They design various projects and view 3D creations. They inspect the prototypes before they are released in the market. VR Game Engineers are involved in every step of VR program development. 
   
• VR Sound Effects Specialist: They are responsible for creating original audio suitable for VR games and applications. VR provides a stimulating environment to the users, and sound effects play an important role in this. Such specialists connect all audio files to the visuals and integrate the audio content in the application itself.
   
• Technical 3D Artist: They are responsible for conceptualizing the VR applications and work closely on defining the complex aspects of the apps. They are also responsible for developing the game engines. A technical 3D artist makes the artist's work easier by creating art from a technical point of view. 
   
• Mixed Reality Artist: They use digital technology to remake and reshape human-to-computer communication. Their work requires them to implement and include 2D and 3D scenes, objects and images in interactive forms. They are responsible for 3D design in VR, including lighting and rendering real-life images into virtual space. Mixed Reality (MR) artists work on improving the interface of VR.
   
• Design/Graphics Engineer: Design or Graphics Engineers are responsible for creating graphics and Computer Vision research. They collaborate with artists and designers to build and improve on experiential prototypes. Their role involves developing new visualizations, effects, and 3D asset standards.
   
• XR Gameplay and Tools Engineer: They are responsible for building, debugging, authoring, and profiling tools. They provide solutions to developers for lowering their software iteration time. Additionally, they help  improve developer tools and boost their workflow efficiency.  
   
• Film and Television Content Lead: They are responsible for crafting suitable strategies for all kinds of entertainment media. These leads support the execution of cross-functionality strategies to adjust the VR software and hardware development platform. 
   
• Rigger: A rigger is responsible for creating the setups for VR and AR games and movies. They automate animation tasks and capture and replicate facial and body motions in graphics to improve the overall efficiency of a VR application.

Here is the data of the average annual salary for different VR related job roles across different countries:

Making a foray into the VR Industry can be easier if you have acquired and polished all the necessary skills. What better way to do that than opting for certification courses, degrees, or programs? Be it a fresher or worker, everyone needs to hone their skills from time to time to advance in this industry. Careervira offers a variety of courses on VR, some of which are:

Unity 2D and 3D Ultimate Game Course Development by Eduonix

• Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.  

This course by Eduonix is designed as a hands-on guide to help you become familiar with the Unity 2D and 3D Game development.  It will teach you how to use the Unity 3D software by providing a complete project setup from the ground. 

How to Make Video Games with Unity: Create 2D and 3D Games by BitDegree

• Prerequisites: You must have a Windows or Mac PC.  

This course will teach you how to make your C# games using Unity 3D. It will also cover game design and development fundamentals that apply to games and those created on the Unity platform. Its Unity 3D and Unity 2D tutorial will teach you how to become a video game developer. 

Adobe Xd - UI / UX Design, Prototype And Getting A Job by Eduonix

• Prerequisites:  You must have Adobe XD software and Windows 10. 

This course teaches Adobe XD, a software that helps design, prototype, present, and collaborates with clients. You will also learn how to get one of the most popular jobs in the design market right now. It also covers the important resources you can use at the workplace. 

From Sketch to Adobe XD: UI Design and Interactive Prototype by Eduonix

• Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.

This course is designed to teach you how to create an interactive prototype using Adobe XD. It will also teach you how to create a simple interactive website prototype. This course provides the Design Assets used in the class so that you can practice and watch them. 

VR Interaction Fundamentals by Pluralsight

• Prerequisites: You need Unity 3D, SteamVR Plugin, and HTC Vive software and hardware.

This course aims to teach interactive VR basics. It will teach you how does virtual reality works and how to create a VR Player character using various interactable objects, including buttons, throwables and handheld shooting guns. Additionally, you will learn to create a VR User Interface (UI) to score your game. 

Game Asset Production Pipeline for VR in 3DS Max and Unity by Pluralsight

• Prerequisites: You will need Substance Painter 1.5, Unity, and 3ds Max 2016 

This course is designed to teach you how to model a difficult game asset in VR. You will learn how to create a production standard to ensure the asset is scaled properly. Then you will create the asset from start to finish. It will also teach you what is important for game mesh construction, UVs layout, and texturing. 

Using HDR Images for 3D Lighting in Maya by Pluralsight

• Prerequisites: You will need the following software, Maya 2012, Nuke 6.3v1, Photoshop CS5, and PTGui v9.0. 

This course teaches how to use High Dynamic Range (HDR) panoramic images for lighting in Maya and mental Ray. It covers all the details required to use HDR imagery in Maya lighting, how to create HDR images at home with a Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, tripod, and nodal head. 

Introduction to Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality by FutureLearn

• Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.  

This course is designed to teach you about what is virtual technology and tools that enable VR, AR, and MR. It will also cover the ethics of developing these types of applications. Overall, it will teach you the basics of VR, AR, and MR. 

Windows Mixed Reality and Hololens Development Fundamentals by O’Reilly

• Prerequisites: You must have a basic understanding of C# and Unity. It is recommended to have access to HoloLens or other Windows Mixed Reality headsets. 

This course will teach you to unlock the potential of 3D immersive computing and how to apply it in your environment. You will learn about 3D objects and holograms, interactions using holograms via voice commands and hand gestures, spatial mapping, 3D spatial sounds, and the HoloToolkit. 

Introduction to XR: VR, AR, and MR Foundations by Coursera

• Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. 

This course will teach you about XR using a chronological approach. You will also learn about the basics of the technology and gain practical experience in the field by following 2 tracks. It will teach you how to create and run 2 simple XR apps on your smartphone using Unity. 

Extended Reality (XR) and the Metaverse: Executive Briefing by Pluralsight

• Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. 

This course will briefly cover Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality. It will teach you about the hardware requirements for VR and AR and show you multiple use cases. You will also learn how XR works, where it is headed, and how it can benefit your business, team, or company.

Lights, Camera, Computer - Action! How Digital Technology is Transforming Film, TV, and Gaming by Future Learn

• Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course 

This course delves into the industry's current technologies and also into those that are being worked upon by researchers. You will reflect on emerging technologies in the industry and identify future opportunities.

Game Character Rigging Fundamentals by Pluralsight

• Prerequisites: You will need the Maya 2017 software. 

This course will teach you the basics of creating joints and how to build a skeleton. It will explain everything you need to rig characters and provide a solid foundation for advanced rigging.

Professional Character Design and Rigging by Skillshare

• Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. 

This course will help you design and create a professional character animation rig. It will teach you how to use Joysticks n Sliders and Duik Bassel.

Virtual Reality (VR) is trending and growing at a fast pace. There was a time when VR was known only for gaming, but now its reach can be seen everywhere! Here are some VR trends you should look out for in 2023:

• Knowledge of various analytics and visualization tools: Tools like Power BI, Tableau, Excel, MongoDB, SAS Visual Analytics, Zoho Analytics, Airtable, etc., make it quick and easy to analyze and understand massive datasets. In this cut-throat competitive market, having proficiency in using analytics software can make landing a data science job easier. Careervira is a top educational learning site that curates the best courses on data analysis tools like Hadoop, SAS, Hive, etc. 
   
• Smart Learning: Virtual reality technology is aiding the shift in educational sector from fact-retention teaching methods to interactive ones. Virtual reality soft skills training creates a simulated environment to help students inspect and explore complicated learning models based on their subjects. This makes for a better learning experience. 
   
• Medical Science: With the help of VR, healthcare professionals and patients interact in simulated environments designed for medical education. This includes simulative surgery training for pain management or rehabilitation. 
   
• Interior and Architecture Design: VR can be incredibly helpful while designing prototypes for potential clients as it helps them understand the presented design plan clearly and easily. All that is needed is a smartphone or tablet with the necessary model software. 
   
• Non-Fungible Token (NFT): VR can be used for creating NFT assets and can give users the flexibility to unlock a wide array of use cases. You can create complex contractual agreements and structures in this environment. This will simplify and speed up negotiation processes. 

The VR Industry is evolving and expanding. As per the research conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC), the VR/AR market is expected to grow by 77% more in 2023. The Allied Market Research report projects that the industry will touch a valuation of $7.76 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 23.3% from 2019 to 2026. 

The future of VR looks very promising, with myriad job openings. It is no wonder then, why this is the best time to learn and advance your career as a VR professional! There will be high competition in this field, and to make you stand out, there are various benefits of virtual reality courses you can take. Now is the best time to learn and advance your career as a VR professional!