Just a disclaimer for the touchy: I'm not trying to "pitch" myself here but just illustrate where I am career-wise.

I actually worked for a start-up for a year before I, its last employee, was laid off. I worked on a number of products and features and touched on probably just about every aspect of Unity at least a little.

My work went into a product that's on Oculus Share as one of two developers on it. I was one of three developers on another product that more recently became available on Steam (sells for $2.99). I did a LOT more work on projects that never got finished, including a short demo.

That was my first job after finishing my MS degree in computer science.

I am getting calls left and right from recruiters about Unity and UnityVR. But it's always, always, ALWAYS 3-5 years' experience and there's no mercy on that demand so far.

Where's a good and sensible place to go looking for two more years of experience with Unity? I can't work for free but I can tolerate a lower wage and I'd like to continue with it.

Thanks!

PS. Oh, and I don't know exactly how this might benefit me but it might help for a start-up - I'm also a pro composer. Several of my compositions are featured in the product that;s up on Steam. Start-ups tend to mean multiple hats (it sure did for me).

In my experience, every entry level job asks for three years experience and three shipped titles, which is a stupid catch 22 :lol:
If you can manage to get to an interview anyway and show that you know what you're talking about, you can still get hired for these jobs. The requirements are more a wish list given to HR/recruiting.

Ah, related question: would the Oculus Share release count? I'd think probably not, as it's free and you can release just about anything on it. :\

Yes, it counts. Stop taking calls from recruiters, and find your own job. Companies don't like to hire
junior people through recruiters - costs extra. Recruiters are okay for highly experienced people.

Thanks for the advice - any thoughts about where to get another 2 years of experience?

Maybe in some cases it's experience (like with Unity) regardless of whether your current employment is related.

The recruiters are telling you you need 2 more years experience. Stop listening to recruiters.
Try applying directly. And apply locally.
Have you read the FAQs here yet?
The link can be found in this forum's main page,
http://www.gamedev.net/forum/101-breaking-into-the-industry/
The link sends you to
http://www.gamedev.net/page/reference/faq.php/_/breaking-into-the-industry-r16

Thank you. I am in the middle of browsing through these sources to see how much I can learn from them. ;)