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Qualifications required for the games industry
Author
I am aiming for a career in computer programming, for this I decided to take a degree in computer science and electronic. I am now approaching the end of my first degree and have been offered a PhD. My problem is I am unsure as to what will make me employable in the industry and what direction I should now take.
Is it more important to have academic qualifications or a substantial portfolio of work (Which as yet I don’t have)? Will the PhD be a help or a hindrance? And is it possible to make money being a programmer?
Hope somone can give me some good advice.
Scott
i suggest going for it. what have you got to lose? i wish i was still in school, and not a drop out, cuz school is cool! stay in school kid! outside world is like being a prositute whoring yourself out, making compromises based on "how the client felt that day" . SQL? yeah, shure...
secondly, you will get special attention with a PhD by your name, however, if you''re dumb, make no mistake about it, people will be able to tell, and then no matter what you call yourself, well, it won''t matter... heh.. but if you''re smart, then a PhD is just a great thing..
finally, computer science is something special, which is not regular science. there are many 12 year old kids that are better coders than PhD students, and there are a lot less 12 year old kids that know calculus.. so, this is why computer science is special, because it isn''t math, it''s not physics, even though every time you write a program it''s like an experiment..
oh yeah, and games.. if you don''t have any artistic ability, forget it..
secondly, you will get special attention with a PhD by your name, however, if you''re dumb, make no mistake about it, people will be able to tell, and then no matter what you call yourself, well, it won''t matter... heh.. but if you''re smart, then a PhD is just a great thing..
finally, computer science is something special, which is not regular science. there are many 12 year old kids that are better coders than PhD students, and there are a lot less 12 year old kids that know calculus.. so, this is why computer science is special, because it isn''t math, it''s not physics, even though every time you write a program it''s like an experiment..
oh yeah, and games.. if you don''t have any artistic ability, forget it..
Hi Scott,
I really don''t want to give advice as such, because I certainly wouldn''t want to encourage you to drop out of the PHd or go for it. However, since you are obviously intelligent enough to base your decision on many more important things than just what I write here, then I will be honest :-)
In my opinion the best qualifications to be a game programmer are:
A deep love for games!...
A strong programming sense, by this I mean you don''t have to be technically the best programmer in the world, but you will need to beable to take on more ''creative'' methods of doing things than in any other programming job...
Be Extremely quick at learning! The speed things move in this industry you will need to beable to grasp the latest 3D API or rushed libs from the next gen console!...
There are, of course, plenty of other things and differences from job to job, but those are a few of the most important.
A strong portfolio will help much more than a qualification, a few demos, maybe a small finished game and a few concept idea will always impress the guys hiring!
If you can juggle a PHD while wokring part-time on porducing some small demos, then all the better!
Cheers,
Marc Lambert
marc@darkhex.com
I really don''t want to give advice as such, because I certainly wouldn''t want to encourage you to drop out of the PHd or go for it. However, since you are obviously intelligent enough to base your decision on many more important things than just what I write here, then I will be honest :-)
In my opinion the best qualifications to be a game programmer are:
A deep love for games!...
A strong programming sense, by this I mean you don''t have to be technically the best programmer in the world, but you will need to beable to take on more ''creative'' methods of doing things than in any other programming job...
Be Extremely quick at learning! The speed things move in this industry you will need to beable to grasp the latest 3D API or rushed libs from the next gen console!...
There are, of course, plenty of other things and differences from job to job, but those are a few of the most important.
A strong portfolio will help much more than a qualification, a few demos, maybe a small finished game and a few concept idea will always impress the guys hiring!
If you can juggle a PHD while wokring part-time on porducing some small demos, then all the better!
Cheers,
Marc Lambert
marc@darkhex.com
Many developers will accept you with just a portfolio of demos and a good interview (including a programming test). At its core this is a creative industry and talent/ability counts for an awful lot.
Some (especially stateside) prefer/require a degree as the industry is attempting to move to a more formal development approach. They assume that a programmer with a CS related degree will be more structured and can form part of a team more easily. Also there are growing needs for qualifications in specific fields (AI, dynamics etc) which require Degree level training.
That is what they require so the answer to your question would seem to be "drop the PhD and get a job". However that doesn''t take into account what you want/need.
If you NEED to earn money then go for a job,
If you WANT to be making games then go for a job,
If you WANT a PhD then stay on and get one - You may not need it for your work but it may be personally important. Once you start working it becomes a lot harder to go back to school and it would be a real pity to spend the rest of your life wishing you had done it.
"It is better to regret the things you did do than regret the things you didn''t do"
Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions
Some (especially stateside) prefer/require a degree as the industry is attempting to move to a more formal development approach. They assume that a programmer with a CS related degree will be more structured and can form part of a team more easily. Also there are growing needs for qualifications in specific fields (AI, dynamics etc) which require Degree level training.
That is what they require so the answer to your question would seem to be "drop the PhD and get a job". However that doesn''t take into account what you want/need.
If you NEED to earn money then go for a job,
If you WANT to be making games then go for a job,
If you WANT a PhD then stay on and get one - You may not need it for your work but it may be personally important. Once you start working it becomes a lot harder to go back to school and it would be a real pity to spend the rest of your life wishing you had done it.
"It is better to regret the things you did do than regret the things you didn''t do"
Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions
I work for elixir studios in the uk, www.elixir-studios.co.uk And although I got in without a degree (i had 4 finished game demos to show them) There are a lot of graduates there and also about half a dozen people with phDs, so either way, as long as you know what you are doing, you should be ok 
http://www.positech.co.uk
http://www.positech.co.uk
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