'my dream is to become a game programmer in the programming industry!' well... it's not exacly the purpose of my life,but i do want to work in the game industry in usa. but so far,i am realy afraid i wont be able to get a job even in the smallest companys since they all seem like unless you are a genious,you need either offical experience in the industry or a degree in order to get a job as a game programmer. i am 17 years old,been programming with directX for two years. i have and probably will not have a degree any time soon,not to mention i never realy worked in the game industry before so i dont have an 'offical experience'. oh yeah,and right now i dont even live in usa,so i'll need to get a visa which sounds to me like something that will make people throw my application to the trash can even faster. it sounds realy hard to me for me to get a job as a game programmer without a degree or experience,so what am i suppoused to do considering the fact i cannot do a degree anytime soon(low high school grades + no money)? i thought of studying unreal script,but i am not sure it will help me get a job and it sounds like a lot to learn.

If you don't have a degree, you need a good portfolio. Just saying you have 2 years experience with DirectX won't be enough, you'll have to show something like a few game demos or graphics demos.

You'll only need a visa if you want to work in the US, you can still apply to games companies in your country.

i live in israel. the gaming industry here is not very... alive. its just that i wasn't born yet. so working here is not much of an option.

i am working though on a big project(which will take me a lot of time to finish) and a small project( a tower defence game i hope to finish in 2 weeks),both are based on my engine that is based on directx.
and something that i learned is that people dont care how much effort i've put into the game or the engine.even if i wrote it in pure assembly,if it's not impressive,it's not impressive. and if it's not impressive,it probably wont get me into the game industry...

You're going to need a degree - partially because the game industry job market is extremely competitive, but most significantly because game programming is an extremely difficult profession even when sized up against programming in other fields, and you're not ready yet by any stretch.
If you can't get directly into a degree program, look for bridging courses or any other stepping stones you can find. If money's an issue, find whatever employment you can.

Professional game programming is a major career to which to aspire, don't expect to step into it before you are very skilled.

Quote:Original post by Fenrisulvur
You're going to need a degree - partially because the game industry job market is extremely competitive, but most significantly because game programming is an extremely difficult profession even when sized up against programming in other fields, and you're not ready yet by any stretch.
If you can't get directly into a degree program, look for bridging courses or any other stepping stones you can find. If money's an issue, find whatever employment you can.

Professional game programming is a major career to which to aspire, don't expect to step into it before you are very skilled.

i guess money is a small problem. to actually get into college i need some good high school grades,which i dont have. so that's why i am asking about getting a job without a degree.

Quote:Original post by Bru
i guess money is a small problem. to actually get into college i need some good high school grades,which i dont have. so that's why i am asking about getting a job without a degree.

Grades will make it hard, but you can start college at small community colleges, maintain good grades, and then transfer into a better college after proving that you're capable of applying yourself to your studies.

Bad grades and no portfolio are signs that you are not motivated. You need to correct that if you want to better your prospects.

If you look at requirements for a work VISA you either have to have a degree or the company hiring you has to prove that you have the exact experience they need. Getting a VISA without a degree is extremely hard for both the company and the applicant so the majority would overlook your application right from the start.