Convicted Felon as a game programmer
If you are 18 now... and you have already been convicted of a crime, and already filled your jail sentence, doesn't our country hide any criminal record from your teen years?
Regardless, if in between your jail time and your applying for a job, you actually got a 4-year degree at a college, that'd personally say enough to convince me.
Also, I'd look at your personal projects and tech demos from your portfolio you'll develop while at school, and I'd pay attention to the content/subject of the projects (and not just the quality of the projects) to get a look inside your mind to see whether I'd work with you.
If I was a recruiter my thought would be, "Will he make off with a monitor or computer?", not "Will he steal our IP"... which would probably put the competitor in too much risk to actually be a likely scenario.
John Carmack was arrested at 14 for stealing computers from his school (sentences for a year in some kind of juvenile facility), for whatever that's worth.
Regardless, if in between your jail time and your applying for a job, you actually got a 4-year degree at a college, that'd personally say enough to convince me.
Also, I'd look at your personal projects and tech demos from your portfolio you'll develop while at school, and I'd pay attention to the content/subject of the projects (and not just the quality of the projects) to get a look inside your mind to see whether I'd work with you.
However, I will say this. You were convicted for burglary (theft). With such convictions come inevitable questions, like "Will he steal our intellectual property and sell it to a competitor?"
If I was a recruiter my thought would be, "Will he make off with a monitor or computer?", not "Will he steal our IP"... which would probably put the competitor in too much risk to actually be a likely scenario.
John Carmack was arrested at 14 for stealing computers from his school (sentences for a year in some kind of juvenile facility), for whatever that's worth.
I forgot about that, but yes, there are petty thiefs and mischievous youngsters on both sides of the spectrum, there are ones that went on to sell meth and shoot police officers, and those that realized their offense (like Carmack and others) and went on to do great things (if programming video games even counts as a "great thing").
If I was a recruiter my thought would be, "Will he make off with a monitor or computer?", not "Will he steal our IP"... which would probably put the competitor in too much risk to actually be a likely scenario.
John Carmack was arrested at 14 for stealing computers from his school (sentences for a year in some kind of juvenile facility), for whatever that's worth.
Otherwise, you pretty much have the same chances are everyone else I would assume. It isn't very different from someone who is handing over a resume that goes something like:
1999-2002 JOB "A"
2002-2009 JOB "B"
2012-2012 JOB "C"
Now, that guy IS hiding something (2009-2012?!)
If he were really trying to hide something, that gap wouldn't be there. Looking at the timing, I would assume that he was simply unemployed, which could actually be worse:
The guy who spent his time in prison has a pretty good excuse for not being able to find work (because he was incarcerated). However, for a "good citizen", who was simply unable to return into the industry quickly enough, due to the severity of the continuing economic apocalypse ... It's highly unlikely that people in those circumstances will be given a second chance.
John Carmack was arrested at 14 for stealing computers from his school (sentences for a year in some kind of juvenile facility), for whatever that's worth.
He also had to fend off law with Softdisk after developing Doom on THEIR computers (to which he hands out advices never to do that to anyone).
Then again, one might argue that one that learns the hard way might be less prone to make the same mistake again.
On a side-note, and yet, terribly on-topic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sentence_(The_Outer_Limits)
Worth a read/look. I think its a position of power you could try and exploit if at all credible.
If I was a recruiter my thought would be, "Will he make off with a monitor or computer?", not "Will he steal our IP"... which would probably put the competitor in too much risk to actually be a likely scenario.
It was the first thing to pop into my mind. Which is easier to steal? A computer, monitor, or copying the source code to a AAA game to a CD?
Anyway, my point was that the recruiter will have reservations, and justifiable ones at that.
My opinion is that it's going to make getting your first job a bit harder, but not impossible. So you'll need to work extra hard to make sure everything else you can do to get that first games industry job is spot on (e.g. decent qualifications, demo projects, resume, internships, etc).
I think that after that, most employers aren't going to care about something that happened when you were 18 and it's unlikely to affect your career progression.
I think that after that, most employers aren't going to care about something that happened when you were 18 and it's unlikely to affect your career progression.
Welcome to the gamedev community, kiet_ngu !
There are ways to get into the industry, legally and ethically, regardless of history or education. However, having a post secondary education will largely offset your felony and be a big advantage.
Some parts of the world would torture you for a long time and kill you, while other parts of the world would not even ask about your past before college. (Others between these two extremes)
My advice would be to put out feelers to specific companies while you are in school to get their application or find their requirements.
In companies which are international among their team members - quite a lot are this way - there may be little or no concern. The more fair and confident the part of the world or the company, the less likely to be an issue. Just don't apply to a game company in a country where they chop hands for stealing and you should be just fine.
I wish you well in your quest.
Clinton
There are ways to get into the industry, legally and ethically, regardless of history or education. However, having a post secondary education will largely offset your felony and be a big advantage.
Some parts of the world would torture you for a long time and kill you, while other parts of the world would not even ask about your past before college. (Others between these two extremes)
My advice would be to put out feelers to specific companies while you are in school to get their application or find their requirements.
In companies which are international among their team members - quite a lot are this way - there may be little or no concern. The more fair and confident the part of the world or the company, the less likely to be an issue. Just don't apply to a game company in a country where they chop hands for stealing and you should be just fine.
I wish you well in your quest.
Clinton
Hello Kiet, in the US, when you apply for a job, there is an area to put in any convicted crime or whatever it was. You will want to put it in there. Better be honest about it than they do a background check and find it out later.
Also, glad to hear you are going to U of U for the EAE program there. I graduated from there (not from EAE, they started that degree just right before my graduation
" ) Anyway, you will want to talk to the Professor who runs the thing there, Roger/Rahjur Altizer (spelling ?). He can help you with bunch of things to prepare you. Talk with him a lot xD
Also, glad to hear you are going to U of U for the EAE program there. I graduated from there (not from EAE, they started that degree just right before my graduation
" ) Anyway, you will want to talk to the Professor who runs the thing there, Roger/Rahjur Altizer (spelling ?). He can help you with bunch of things to prepare you. Talk with him a lot xD
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