Getting a job without an education

Grantax · 2009-12-14T19:17:17

I'm 19 years old, and for a couple of years I've been coding using c++. I don't have an education, and I was wondering how hard it is to get a job without an education, and what I should do next. I mostly do game programming (because it's more fun :) ), and I'm coding alone, so I have to do everything myself (Graphics, sound, networking, physics etc.), but I've come to believe that people specialize in a field, though at this point I don't really prefer one over the other. So what I'm asking is: What should I do to get into the industry? And would I normally have to specialize in a specific field like networking or graphics?

Games Career Development Business

Started by Grantax December 14, 2009 08:36 AM

18 comments, last by Tom Sloper 14 years, 4 months ago

Grantax

108

Author

December 14, 2009 01:57 PM

I flunked out of high school (I think it corresponds to high school..) last year because I got an F in history, and religion. I have issues with learning stuff that's totally uninteresting, and not related to the job I want in any way.

Quote:Original post by Yasir
Just intrested, how long did you spend teaching yourself C++ and how hard was it?
Im 19 and im intrested in learning it but im not in college or any education at the moment

I started learning C++ when I was 15, and I didn't find it hard at all. My problem isn't understanding c++, it's all the problems I have to solve when making games. (Which isn't really an issue, you'll always have to learn new things when programming new games)

Rycross

584

December 14, 2009 02:12 PM

Quote:Original post by Grantax
I flunked out of high school (I think it corresponds to high school..) last year because I got an F in history, and religion. I have issues with learning stuff that's totally uninteresting, and not related to the job I want in any way.

I hate to be blunt, but that attitude makes you unsuited for any sort of professional development work. Even game programming requires work that is uninteresting and monotonous from time to time. Failing out of things because they're uninteresting and you don't want to put in the effort is a huge black mark, and you'll have to fix that if you want employers to take you seriously.

Grantax

108

Author

December 14, 2009 02:23 PM

Quote:Original post by Rycross
Quote:Original post by Grantax
I flunked out of high school (I think it corresponds to high school..) last year because I got an F in history, and religion. I have issues with learning stuff that's totally uninteresting, and not related to the job I want in any way.

I hate to be blunt, but that attitude makes you unsuited for any sort of professional development work. Even game programming requires work that is uninteresting and monotonous from time to time. Failing out of things because they're uninteresting and you don't want to put in the effort is a huge black mark, and you'll have to fix that if you want employers to take you seriously.

I've had several jobs I've found utterly boring, but I still didn't mind. Having to read, understand and remember 500 pages of several uninteresting books on the other hand, is just too difficult. Does that make me unable to make games? No, it doesn't.

Daivuk

413

December 14, 2009 02:50 PM

He is kind of right on this, I failed college because of the French and Philosophy classes. Does that means I am not smart and I can't achieve boring programming tasks? I got a specialized degree in Video games programming after, and then I found a job because of that degree, NOT because of my portfolio I had already. Which I hate to sound arrogant, but was kick ass portfolio.

But... That was college (That's after high school). I didn't find high school particularly difficult. Get a 60% in those 2 classes, they wont even bother looking at those :)

Edit: Note: That portfolio was ignored by companies until I got the game degree.

jtagge75

139

December 14, 2009 03:00 PM

Quote:Original post by Grantax
I've had several jobs I've found utterly boring, but I still didn't mind. Having to read, understand and remember 500 pages of several uninteresting books on the other hand, is just too difficult. Does that make me unable to make games? No, it doesn't.

Makes you fairly unabled to get hired by any professional company. What kind of impression do you think it gives to an employer when you tell them you flunked high school because it was boring? Why should they spend time and money to train you when its just as likely you will find the job boring and quit. Don't think that because you "know" C++ there isn't on the job learning. Or that you won't be required to do long tedious tasks. What advantage do you offer over somebody who stuck out the boring college classes and has a degree? The other thing about college is it forces you to work in groups (sometimes with people you don't like). You have no experience with this either. Employers can't tell if you play well with others. Professional games today are all about working with other people every day. The days of the lone programmer making commerical games is pretty much gone.

Only remote way you have of getting a job is creating some *very* nice demos (things like Palidine mentioned) and getting to know some people in companies that can directly get you an interview to show your skills. Since you have no resume or any kind of qualifications you will never make it past HR to get an interview that way.

Life is full of things we don't want to do. If you really want to make games for a living then you are going to have to suck it up and do something you don't like to get there. The world isn't full of freebies to work around what you want to do.

Tom Sloper

17,201

December 14, 2009 03:29 PM

Quote:Original post by Grantax
Quote:Original post by Rycross
Quote:Original post by Grantax
I flunked out of high school (I think it corresponds to high school..) last year because I got an F in history, and religion. I have issues with learning stuff that's totally uninteresting, and not related to the job I want in any way.

I hate to be blunt, but that attitude makes you unsuited for any sort of professional development work. Even game programming requires work that is uninteresting and monotonous from time to time. Failing out of things because they're uninteresting and you don't want to put in the effort is a huge black mark, and you'll have to fix that if you want employers to take you seriously.

I've had several jobs I've found utterly boring, but I still didn't mind. Having to read, understand and remember 500 pages of several uninteresting books on the other hand, is just too difficult. Does that make me unable to make games? No, it doesn't.

OK, well then! You don't need our opinions, so why did you ask?
Maybe you ought to just let these remarks stew in your mind for a couple of days.

Having flunked history and religion isn't a showstopper. If you decide someday that you do want to get more education, I'm sure you can find a way.

That said, there will be more times in your life when you'll find it necessary to do something unpleasant for extended periods of time. If you can stick it through a boring job, you should be able to stick it through other boring things too.

And you might be surprised at how useful it will become to have more knowledge of history and religion (and other boring topics) than you think.

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

Promit

13,404

December 14, 2009 03:41 PM

Quote:Original post by Grantax
Quote:Original post by Rycross
Quote:Original post by Grantax
I flunked out of high school (I think it corresponds to high school..) last year because I got an F in history, and religion. I have issues with learning stuff that's totally uninteresting, and not related to the job I want in any way.

I hate to be blunt, but that attitude makes you unsuited for any sort of professional development work. Even game programming requires work that is uninteresting and monotonous from time to time. Failing out of things because they're uninteresting and you don't want to put in the effort is a huge black mark, and you'll have to fix that if you want employers to take you seriously.

I've had several jobs I've found utterly boring, but I still didn't mind. Having to read, understand and remember 500 pages of several uninteresting books on the other hand, is just too difficult. Does that make me unable to make games? No, it doesn't.

Okay, fine. Let's avoid arguing that point and move to a more directly relevant one -- what exactly do you plan to tell an employer when they ask you WHY you dropped out of high school? Here's a hint: if you tell them what you just told us, they will politely thank you for applying and show you the door. In layman's terms, they will throw you the hell out.

Oh, and when you said "no education" I assumed you meant "no college". If you don't have a high school degree, and you're 19, no game developer on the planet is interested in hiring you. End of story. Go get a GED, or plan on working fast food.

SlimDX | Ventspace Blog | Twitter | Diverse teams make better games. I am currently hiring capable C++ engine developers in Baltimore, MD.

Grantax

108

Author

December 14, 2009 03:56 PM

Sure, I could get an E if I spent more time, but at the moment I can't afford the exams, so I was just asking if there was a way around.

Thank you for all the answers, I had pretty much given up getting an education, but I guess I'll have to give it another shot.

Obscure

175

December 14, 2009 06:06 PM

Quote:Original post by Grantax
I flunked out of high school (I think it corresponds to high school..) last year because I got an F in history, and religion. I have issues with learning stuff that's totally uninteresting, and not related to the job I want in any way.

You have never done the job - how would you know what is or isn't relevant? Game development is about creating worlds and worlds are made up of history, architecture, linguistics, mathematics, music, religion, geography, geology etc etc... a general education that covers a wide range of topics will stand you in excellent stead as a game developer - it will also make you a much more interesting person to talk to when your not working.

Dan Marchant - Business Development Consultant
www.obscure.co.uk

Tom Sloper

17,201

December 14, 2009 07:17 PM

Quote:Original post by Grantax
1. I was just asking if there was a way around.
2. Thank you for all the answers, I had pretty much given up getting an education, but I guess I'll have to give it another shot.

1. The question didn't quite come out that way.
2. Excellent. That is an adult thing to have said, and a wise outlook.

I am closing the thread because beyond this point (we have now attained "closure" aka resolution) it stands an excellent chance of getting hijacked in a different direction. Anyone having a related question can, as always, start a new thread.

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

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