Most of us did not go to college nor university knowing we would be working on Digital Asset Management (DAM) today. Many might even say ‘DAM picked me. I did not pick to work on DAM.’ Those of us who are working on DAM come from diverse career backgrounds, which may include:

• Archives and records management
• Business Management
• Design
• Education
• Engineering
• Film
• History
• Journalism
• Library Science
• Marketing
• Photography
• Project Management
• Sales
• Video
• And many other career paths

Is a career in DAM really planned at all? It may be fair to say that at the time of this blog post and according to a recent poll, most people did not plan on a career in DAM, but rather volunteered for it or were volunteered for it. Either way, that is okay. Allow me to explain why…

1. DAM is a growing field
2. Growth in DAM means growth in careers which manage information  (Has your organization stopped accumulating digital assets? This is not likely to happen anytime soon)
3. DAM has the ability to measure growth and progress within an organization, which is very lucrative in any business, as long as you know exactly what is being measured
4. Part of running a DAM can lead to better record keeping and Rights Management which reduces liability within the organization (aka not getting sued for unauthorized use)
5. There are more and more DAM jobs waiting to be filled
6. There are not enough DAM professionals available with the needed experience, some even say there is a shortage of qualified individuals
7. More education about DAM is coming soon to help reduce this shortage and further the knowledge of people who find themselves newly involved in DAM
8. DAM internships and mentorship program are now available in order to share the knowledge and hands-on experience needed
9. It takes a certain type of individual to work on DAM and not everyone can do this type of work. You may be that person and not realize it. Do not expect overnight change, but rather baby steps of progress
10. Some organizations are still scratching their heads wondering why there is a low adoption of their systems, while their own people don’t understand how to use them and there is no one to help them internally. As soon as it dawns on them, they will begin seeing the value of a DAM professional who can assist them within their organization whether it is an internal resource who knows their processes (is that you?) and/or an external resource (such as a consultant) if you are not sure where to start or how to move forward in a phased approach. Yes, I will be blogging about the phases of DAM too.

There are courses available in DAM from:

• CMSWatch (also offered by AIIM) offer an online certificate education course on the Fundamentals of Digital Asset Management Technologies
• King’s College London to offer a Master of Arts in Digital Asset Management (MADAM) in late 2010. This is being offered not because we needed more acronyms in this field, but because we need more education about DAM.
• Tutorials offered before and after each Henry Stewart DAM Conference held in the USA and Europe
• More events and workshops for DAM users are coming soon
• Internships are now available
• Mentorship program has been established for professionals.

Of course, DAM vendors offer documentation and support for their specific DAM systems, but it is not enough. Who will drive the adoption, implementation, operations, support and workflow of the DAM within your organization? Enter the DAM Professional.

Anyone can supplement their DAM education and experience with:

• Books (take note of their publish dates though because technology changes rapidly)
• Blogs (not just this one)
• DAM Foundation (the author of this blog is an active member)
• LinkedIn groups about “Digital Asset Management”
• Podcasts (you do not need an iPod to listen to them, just a computer or smart phone, and internet access)
• Vendors publicly offer great marketing materials  (even if they are not your preferred vendor, you may learn something new)
• Webinars (there are several every month)
• Twitter (users and vendors are both there)
• Do not limit yourself nor your sources of how/where you can learn something new

In an upcoming post, I will list some job descriptions and various levels of experience for DAM-related positions.

How do you plan your career in DAM? Educate yourself and keep informed.