Career

In order to make a progress and become an art director, you need to enhance your professional profile. Here are few important steps you should follow.
1. Acquire required skills
Here are the most required skills employers are looking for, prioritized by their importance, based on the analysis of thousands of Art Directors job posts:
Photoshop
User interface design
HTML
Illustrator
Typography
InDesign
Adobe creative suite
CSS
Photography
Start with evaluating your current skill set and identify your missing skill.
There are many relevant online and offline learning resource out there, to gain these missing skills.
2. Stay updated with latest industry updates. Read relevant articles and professional material to gain as much relevant knowledge as you can.
3. Grow your professional network. Get connected with Art directors and with other key players from the industry. Here are few effective ways to do that:
Attend relevant meetups. Attending meetups is a way to get to know people from the industry, grow your network and to ask questions and get advice. You can find relevant meetups here: Art Directors Meetups
Join relevant LinkedIn groups. LinkedIn groups is a great way to meet relevant people from the industry and to create initial connections. Here are few groups that may interest you
Art Director Group
Graphic designer & art director
Get connected with relevant people in LinkedIn.
4. Use your existing network to locate relevant people who can mentor you and give you professional advice and lead you to become an art director.
You may pursue a degree course from in direction.

Most computer software development jobs require Bachelor's degrees in computer Science or software engineering. These programs have significant math requirements that include a sequence in calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. A sequence in physics is also required. Students typically complete these requirements in the first two years of a program.
The software engineering tracks of these programs teach students how to construct, analyze, and maintain software through lectures and laboratory sessions. Programs include topics in computer programming, operating systems, and networks. In many programs, the capstone requirement is a senior design project that allows students to apply the principles they've learned to an original concept. Students may also take part in cooperative internships to gain experience as part of an engineering program.
Computer software engineering students may want to consider programs that are accredited by ABET, Inc., formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. According to ABET, graduate schools, employers, and certification boards may require that applicants hold degrees from accredited programs.
Prospects
What tends to happen is that as developers progress in their careers they tend to either move into specialist technical roles or move into management, while at the same time, the need for more developers increases. So while there still are many developers around who are 40+, they are generally outnumbered by the new entrants to the industry.
The demand for software developers is still increasing. It has done ever since the birth of computer programming. With each innovation that has come along, and as programming languages and development environments have improved, people thought the demand for developers would peak and start to decrease, but that hasn't happened - yet.
Certainly for the next five years or so I don't see it changing, but IT is now seen as lucrative career option and there are huge numbers of people around the world doing computer Science degrees.

An microbiology degree holder could translate to a career as a college educator or contributing member of a scientific team, which eventually could result in a leadership or management position, such as the director of an immunology or clinical microbiology laboratory. Employers include:
Government agencies, such as the Center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health
Private health care services and philanthropic organizations, such as the American Cancer Society, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the American Heart Association
Pharmaceutical companies
Medical schools and university-affiliated teaching hospitals
Veterinary hospitals.