The metaverse has been mentioned tons recently, particularly following the recent rebranding of Facebook to Meta. But what actually is it? And how does this relate to you? At Adzuna, we’re always taking a look at the latest trends in the job market and the opportunities they may bring.
Here we explore how the number of metaverse job openings is changing, as well as what the metaverse really is. We have also uncovered which sectors are hiring for metaverse experts as well as taking a look at other trending tech roles.
What the heck is the metaverse?
You may have heard the term ‘metaverse’ being mentioned recently, but what does it actually mean?
The term is pretty broad, and essentially refers to technologies related to virtual reality and augmented reality. The metaverse can also reference the digital economy where users can create, buy, and sell goods in a connected online universe, for example buying a virtual item like a truck in one virtual world and being able to use it on another virtual platform.
Currently, the biggest usage is within the gaming world, with Microsoft, Minecraft, and Epic Games being some of the better-known companies investing in the field. However, other fields are also showing an interest in the metaverse, including Adidas. The sportswear brand is entering the metaverse by giving buyers the chance to purchase a product that they can wear physically as well as in the online world. Cool, right?
How many metaverse jobs are there?
February 2022 saw 3,339 advertised vacancies for metaverse positions across the US, a large increase from 1,892 in January. The number of metaverse vacancies has more than quadrupled in just four months from just 679 jobs in October. This is probably down to the fact that October was the month in which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rebranded his company to Meta and announced a $10b project to build a parallel metaverse universe.
At beginning of the year, we also started seeing other big tech brands investing in the metaverse. For instance, Microsoft announced its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the biggest video game developer and publisher, which will allow the company to develop Microsoft-backed games and software in the metaverse in the coming years. Google is starting to invest again in augmented reality (AR) to get its foot back in the door within the metaverse, investing millions in a private equity fund for future metaverse projects.
Although the recent re-branding of Facebook to Meta has catalyzed a rise in openings, the first metaverse posting was in April 2019, suggesting that the concept has existed for several years as a niche rather than a mainstream term.
Taking a look at a sector level, the top five industries currently hiring for metaverse experts are IT (1,705 jobs); Creative & Design (566 jobs); PR, Advertising & Marketing (361 jobs); Engineering (272 jobs); and Sales (202 jobs).
Typically, metaverse opportunities range from openings for UI and animation designers to developers, UX designers, writers, and data scientists.
Trending tech roles: Crypto and cybersecurity
In a similar way to the metaverse, two other areas have also seen rapid growth in job postings. Vacancies for ‘crypto’ jobs hit a record high in February with 5,302 advertised jobs. ‘Cybersecurity’ roles more than doubled from 27,267 vacancies a year ago to 64,659 in February 2022. It is likely that cybersecurity roles will continue to increase, especially due to the ongoing threat of a Russian cyber attack.
If you’re passionate about gaming or keen to work on the vanguard of tech, why not consider taking a metaverse job? Search our millions of job vacancies here.
Read more: The hottest jobs for 2022 based on rising salaries