How to get a job in Graphic programming?

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11 comments, last by Natom 9 years, 3 months ago

You probably need to re-aim your portfolio -- accepting that jumping straight into a graphics programmer role is unlikely, landing a more attainable entry job like game-play programmer isn't going to happen with a portfolio that only shows your graphics chops. Its always good to show well-roundedness, but every employer want's to know that you've deeper capability in the particular area they can fit you with. Valve describes their ideal employee as being "T-shaped" by which they mean that an employee who knows a good bit about every subject and knows everything about one particular subject is what they're looking for; and while Valve is known best for saying it, it's my observation that this is really almost everyone's ideal employee.

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You probably need to re-aim your portfolio -- accepting that jumping straight into a graphics programmer role is unlikely, landing a more attainable entry job like game-play programmer isn't going to happen with a portfolio that only shows your graphics chops. Its always good to show well-roundedness, but every employer want's to know that you've deeper capability in the particular area they can fit you with. Valve describes their ideal employee as being "T-shaped" by which they mean that an employee who knows a good bit about every subject and knows everything about one particular subject is what they're looking for; and while Valve is known best for saying it, it's my observation that this is really almost everyone's ideal employee.

Thank you for the advance and im going to get to work at expanding my work into other projects and target other job within the industry.

I'd also like to throw in my two cents. It is my experience that you rarely stick to the job you're hired for, game development is notorious for "the publishers want this by next week" or "John needs help". My first job I got hired on as a UI programmer. I wound up spending about half my time on gameplay elements / helping people debug physics. I even got leased to our other team for a while.

The point is, if your passion is to be a graphics programmer don't be afraid to pursue that and let it be known. Even if it's not the job you're applying for, it's good to know that you have a goal. Maybe the biggest things I look for in an interview are drive and ambition, because no matter how smart you are there are going to be lots of times when you hit a brick wall and you really have to want to get past it.

That being said, you need to re-orient your priorities.
* Put down contact information. It needs to be ridiculously easy for someone to get in touch with you.
* Be progressive. If your resume isn't going to be in a traditional format, spruce it up. Use some HTML5. Animate something. http://phaser.io/ Good news, here's your chance to prove you can be a graphics programmer! Spending time on this is important, you have to sell yourself here.
* Point blank: I don't care if you made a 2.0 or a 5.0 GPA. Probably nobody really cares. They barely care if you have a degree, and in some cases that doesn't matter either. I know that's hard to hear considering how hard you just worked for that, but it's true. They're going to determine if you're competent based on the technical interview. Paper is just there to get you on the phone, and once you have titles under your belt the paper generally stops mattering. If you can't get experience, MAKE EXPERIENCE (read a couple points down)
* Drop making your own engine. Probably every new game programmer makes this mistake, including myself when I graduated. It's a fruitless endeavor. There is an absolutely massive amount of ever-expanding technology to wrap your head around and you'll probably never get around to it if you're stuck reinventing the wheel. Take a top down approach here, tackle Unity (another engine is probably fine too, I just like Unity).

* Write some fancy shaders and show them off on your portfolio. If you use Unity, put it in a web player. Better yet, grab some assets and start making small games. Make and follow deadlines. Push yourself. Use a new feature every game. You can do incredible things in even the simplest games. This teaches you so many things school simply can't, not least of which is knowing your own limits and learning how to complete a project (BIG DEAL!).
* People who make YouTube tutorials are the BEST. Almost every week I come across a really cool new tutorial on something and - wait for it - WANT TO HIRE THAT PERSON. #WishIKnewThisWhenStarvingAfterCollege

I hope I haven't been too redundant, it's been a long day and I'm nodding off. At a glance I can say everyone has given you good advice. Good luck!

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