Last year, I wrote about DAM as a career but focussed more on how we get into DAM than growth with the skills we have learned as digital asset management professionals. Since the path can vary from photo to IT to library science to operations (and more - just look at the LinkedIn profiles of fellow DAM pros sometime!), we enter the field with varied skillsets. Once we build, maintain, and train users on our platforms, though, what are the new transferable skills we have learned together?
Like most things, I started looking to smart people around me for ideas. I enjoyed the take that Theresa Regli took in her article on LinkedIn, Growing Your Career in DAM, and its accompanying infographic. By laying out the experience depth-to-length matrix and various roles across it, she gave me several ideas of roles that can benefit from DAM skills. Visualizing FTW!
Back to our shared very particular set of skills. My list would include:
organization
breaking down silos
communication
influence
change management
budgets
design thinking
content strategy
technical (include the DAM, CMS, data, ticketing, design, and communications systems you have learned)
training
documentation
product ownership
people lead
project management
… plus about a dozen more depending on your experience.
Each skill could be the basis of your next career move. Enjoy content strategy? A role leading your company’s digital content experience might make sense. Prefer connecting people across teams? Project management might be a better fit. Excel at training new users on your DAM? Maybe transfer those skills to a learning & development team.
Within the DAM world, promotions from specialist to manager to product owner appears to be the most common in a field where there is no clear path. Some people also leave the end-user side to work at a product vendor or independently as a consultant. Those with more business focus can improve their people skills and leadership in operations or MarTech as a whole.
Since there are so many options, the choice can be overwhelming. I have found that by reflecting on which aspects of DAM are the most interesting to you, the next step of your career can become clear. And if not, luckily there are many fields, industries, and paths to explore until you find the right fit. In a market where DAM professionals are in demand, knowing your worth might the most important skill to learn.