How experienced must you be to land a game programming job?

GameDev.net · 1999-10-27T18:05:00

Could someone tell me how good/experienced a programmer has to be in order to get a programming job at a game company? I just graduated from college with a CS degree. I have no professional experience in programming. I have created two demo games. They are both fully playable but they don't have title screens, high scores, etc. One is a 2D souped up Space Invaders clone, and the other is a 3D space shooter like a stripped-down homemade Starfox 64 for the N64.I made these games so that I could have something to include with my resume. Will they help or am I wasting my time because of my lack of experience??Please give me some advice.

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Started by GameDev.net October 27, 1999 06:05 PM

37 comments, last by GameDev.net 24 years, 6 months ago

TANSTAAFL

1,160

September 07, 1999 05:28 AM

I'm 25 years old. I've been programming for 12 years (i started in BASIC on the TRS-80 Color Computer 2). i dont have a degree.

i DO have professional programming experience (i wrote DB apps with MS Access for a while).

and now, i have professional GAME programming experience. (for the last week i've been working for Geoff, and i will continue to work for him until the end of the month, or until he no longer needs me, which ever comes later)

so, what kind of experience do you need to get a job?

well, a CS degree should be enough to get you an interview. pro programming experience should get you the same thing. high visibility on the net helps, too. both Rhino and I have been contacted by recruiters, because of SweetOblivion and now GameDev, our visibility is quite high. Articles, demos, and whatnot all increase visibility.

Get off my lawn!

MikeD

158

September 07, 1999 08:55 AM

I finished University with a reasonable honors degree in CS with AI. I immediately applied for jobs both inside and outside the games industry, seeing what was available.
My background was, compared to most programmers, pretty abysmal. I started programming at 16, had never written computer games and barely programmed outside enforced academic projects.
In the end I went for a job at a low grade computer firm for £12K, about $20K in US. strange though this sounds, the highest a graduate can expect to get in the games industry in England is £18K, most start on about £14K.
My point is that, if you're willing to work for pittance, for no gratitude, on stupid hours (often without overtime) then you should have no problem getting in.
And once you're in, with 2-3 years experience you could probably get a job anywhere in the world.
Also, if you're lucky enough to work on, or be associated with, a product that gets a decent name and decent sales then you're set up in terms of getting a new job.
That's the only reason I'm at my current company, as soon as this project's done _everyone_ is off to find new employment.
Sounds a bit harsh doesn't it?
I guess that's just my experience of the industry.

Anonymous

September 07, 1999 09:59 PM

bburge, I think it would be a good idea to show you guys my program. But, would there be any problems with me giving out my game like that?

I was also looking for a site (maybe this one), that has game demos from regular people that lists their experience level so that others can see where they rank on whats out there.

Sieggy

122

September 09, 1999 08:30 AM

Is it just me or is it kind of a bummer that one of the most difficult and intense programming arenas of subject to such low pay, job instability, and long hours? I work on the business dev side and caliber of talent seen on places like this board or in a game company is hard to find yet we enjoy better hours, benefits, and salary. Its very ironic. Call me lame but I'd love to make the jump to games, I certainly think its my calling but I'm old enough to have the wife and kids thing and the thought of "Yes Mr. Nagel you're engine rocks but we have to fire you anyway" lurks at the back of my mind. I'm optimistic though. Perhaps as the industry grows it won't be so flaky.

Nurgle

269

September 11, 1999 06:45 AM

I've been 18 a week, and have about 6 months professional software development experience, with no qualifications.

Sure, my job sucks and pays crap (and I have a boss for an idiot), but it means in a few years I can get a much better job without a degree. Hell, I've been offered $40k a year jobs before...

After careful deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that Nazrix is not cool. I am sorry for any inconvienience my previous mistake may have caused. We now return you to the original programming

Anonymous

September 14, 1999 06:33 AM

MikeD's experience has been pretty similar to mine so I don't know if this is the norm but all I got to say is SUCK IT UP! It seems to be a boot camp mentality or something until you pay your "dues". In other words if you ain't got prior experience your just a slave, simple as that. I don't have a college degree but I beat out 75 other people to get the programming job I got now. I heard it was cause I checked the companies web page before my interview so I was familiar with all their products,etc. and that seemed to make an impression. Not to mention being very knowledgeable and quick thinking must've helped too. Anyways, my point is even though I'm sure I'm smarter and know more about programming than most where I work they still don't listen to me. I heard another programmer that's been working there longer than me say that's how they treat all new programmers. They won't bother listening to you for the first few months till you prove yourself to the company(For instance I told one of the lead programmers that his code was buggy and crashing one of our apps and he tried to blame the bug on my code and just ignored me till he finally got back to me a couple of days later and finally admitted I was right and that his code was buggy). And the pay is crappy too for the amount of work you gotta do. I hear that after a while and after you prove your as good as you say they'll start paying you a lot better but that remains to be seen in my case anyways I plan I getting as much paid professional experience while I can and go somewhere else if things don't start looking up.

Anonymous

September 14, 1999 06:45 AM

Oh yeah i forgot to metion this but some of the people I work with even have 2 college degrees and to tell you the truth I don't know how it helped them other than they are in debt still paying off all that money they paid to college. A college degree does show dedication though-it shows that you stuck with a project(school) for at least 4 years. My advice is that if you didn't get paid for those 2 games it ain't gonna do you much good putting them on your resume. Your best bet is to play your college card and play up your college degree as much as you can to distinguish yourself from the crowd. The bottom line is your probably gonna have to slave yourself like some/all of us till you get experience so you can move on to something better.

mason

128

September 15, 1999 09:04 PM

Not that I've had any direct experience in the industry (yet), but my gut tells me that college degrees wouldn't matter as much as prior experience.

The tough part is getting that experience; many times the first thing a games headhunter asks is "have you ever been paid to make video games?" Say "No" to this question and you're sunk.

Mason McCuskey
Spin Studios
www.spin-studios.com

Founder, Cuttlefish Industries
The Cuttlefish Engine lets anyone develop great games for iPad, iPhone, Android, WP7, the web, and more!

Anonymous

September 15, 1999 09:57 PM

I am 17 and I work for microsoft in the gaming division. I started out by just getting a technical support job then showed my supervisors that I was a way hard worker and reliable. Then when there was an opening in the art department for the gaming division I applied and used my supervisor as back up and got the job. I am still in High school and have 50 a year job. So don't be afraid to start way low maybe even in a different division than you want and just work your ass off get some say that you've worked with a gaming company and apply at as many places as possible. JUST KEEP AT IT. ANYTHING is possible from ANYONE!

dave geurts
v-davege@microsoft.com

Turtle

122

September 17, 1999 06:08 PM

I can't say I've accually gotten into the industry so if I wrong about this correct me.

I think if your 3D game really isn't quite selling quality, just take its code and highlight the sections you thought you did a great job on write down why and any improvements you can think of making now and send the .exe, and code with your views on what you did really well. send this around to a few places this way they'll see what you can do really well even if the finished product wasn't perfect.

If its nearly good enough to get published maybe take it and try spruceing it up some now that you have a little more experience, might turn out real nice now.

DESIGN FANATIC
David Abresch
abre1657@blue.univnorthco.edu

How experienced must you be to land a game programming job?

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