Hey guys, 

Currently I am a Canadian citizen, enrolled in College (this doesn't get me a degree it gets me this 3-year advanced diploma that is considered community college/AA to u guys in the states) (basically worthless to me outside of Canada) I will be moving to the states to find work at the end of my course, and I wanted to ask anyone who has any advise what I should focus on and completely smash, do I need an amazing portfoilo in all aspects of game develeopment to secure a good job or do I need to do something specific?(lets say 80-90k USD a year and benefits) I want to be a Game Engine developer (Programmer), and wanted to go with Unity or Unreal, but realized a Game Devevelopment Diploma more than likely wont help at all in terms of engine development, and Ill prove why below., but I would be happy Modelling, Sound Eng, or Programming in terms of large scale software projects for games. I am wondering what I should do to impress people enough that my education wont matter and I can move to the states without ever worrying about life in terms of a job. Others will have bachelors and Ill have a lousy 3 year game development course, AA in the states or wtv. I took this course because I didnt believe in going to Uni for game development, and I'm not trying to bash anyone that did, I'm just not gonna go pay big money to say Mr.Makes Good Games taught me to code when I can prove I'm amazing through practice and persistence. So I'm sticking to the Diploma, I just don't know what to focus on as this course is basically self driven. Read below to get an understanding of what knowledge ill gain in the 3 years. 

College in Canada is designed to give kids a hands on approach to learning the industry, from code to art (but the course says its 80% code, and most programmers get the jobs over the artsits). This is Algonquins program specifically I'm not saying all programs are like this.

1st year: A lot of basic courses, learning to draw, learning to shade, learning to code, learning about game music and history, business, basics of just about EVERYTHING. 

2nd year: an advanced focus on things, advanced drawing techniques, DirectX/OpenGL + (C++), Tablet Game Dev, advanced modelling and audio engineering, ect. business aspects. 

3rd year: An entire year dedicated to Algonquins international Capstone project, this year we focus on something specific (programming for me) and are forced into teams to complete our game projects that will compete with others around the world.( Is it just me or am I the only one that wants to do the entire thing alone bc I dont trust some third year college student to help make a game that might make or break my chances of getting a job, just kidding though) Also some students who have higher GPA, get to lead in what ever aspect they choose, so for me it would (hopefully) be Lead Programmer. 

Heres a link to the actual course if ur curious what EXACTLY I learn, it would actually be helpful if u experienced guys took a look at this link and told me where I should focus hard: http://www.algonquincollege.com/mediaanddesign/program/game-development/

So, what do you guys think I should be focusing on, Im gonna take this to the next level and spend the next three years of my life trying to learn EVERYTHING i can about game dev, so shoot me with your honesty. 

Please only reply if you are EXPERIENCED and have worked in the field before and have seen others in my situation or even just been in the industry long enough to give me advice. Please if you are going to tell me my view on things is all wrong, please be a professional or I will just ignore your advice. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just very lost and I keep getting answers from a lot of people who have never even been in the industry and its rlly starting to lead me a stray

"I will be moving to the states to find work at the end of my course" - any particular reason, given that Canada has a great games industry?

" I want to be a Game Engine developer (Programmer [...] but I would be happy Modelling, Sound Eng, or Programming in terms of large scale software projects for games. I am wondering what I should do to impress people" - having backup plans isn't going to help, because the industry wants specialists. If you can't get in with your 'main' skill, you're extremely unlikely to get in via your backup skill. Pick the discipline that interests you most (e.g. programming) and focus on that. The other stuff will mostly just help out when prototyping.

" Is it just me or am I the only one that wants to do the entire thing alone " - group projects in school are always a nightmare, but if you want to get a job you need to be able to show that you can work as part of a team. Ideally you will have worked hard in your other classes and will have other work to show that demonstrates your individual abilities. You can also work on things that interest you in your spare time to add to this.

" it would actually be helpful if u experienced guys took a look at this link and told me where I should focus hard " - you should focus hard on all of it. Firstly, you can't expect to cut corners when you're already opting not to take a full bachelors degree - you'll want your results on this course to suggest to employers that you could have aced a bachelors if you'd chosen to. Secondly, the more knowledge, the better. Some of that stuff, such as drawing and sound design, won't be used in a programmer's day to day work, but will come in very helpful during prototyping and making a portfolio. Lastly, if these classes come with recommended texts, buy/borrow them and read them! A lot of people are confident that they can pass a class without referring to the text, and often that is true, but the texts will contain so much more information that will be relevant and valuable to your career.

7 hours ago, jbadams said:

Have you looked through some of the other topics? Obviously the questions don't exactly match your situation, but some of the answers are relevant.

From a quick look, these may have some relevant answers, I'm sure there are others that might be helpful if you do some browsing:

Breaking into the industry with a bad degree - can it be done?

Need some tips on getting into the field.

 

You also didn't ask any follow up questions in your previous topic, were those responses helpful at all?

 

Tom Sloper (who responded you your other topic - he's an industry veteran) has published a whole bunch of advice on the industry, some of which is relevant to getting a job.

 

Hope that helps!

I will for sure be looking through these other topics  Thanks for taking the time to find this, also as far as my previous topic, I worded it very poorly and I think thats why a lot of the responses werent what I was looking for

2 hours ago, Kylotan said:

"I will be moving to the states to find work at the end of my course" - any particular reason, given that Canada has a great games industry?

" I want to be a Game Engine developer (Programmer [...] but I would be happy Modelling, Sound Eng, or Programming in terms of large scale software projects for games. I am wondering what I should do to impress people" - having backup plans isn't going to help, because the industry wants specialists. If you can't get in with your 'main' skill, you're extremely unlikely to get in via your backup skill. Pick the discipline that interests you most (e.g. programming) and focus on that. The other stuff will mostly just help out when prototyping.

" Is it just me or am I the only one that wants to do the entire thing alone " - group projects in school are always a nightmare, but if you want to get a job you need to be able to show that you can work as part of a team. Ideally you will have worked hard in your other classes and will have other work to show that demonstrates your individual abilities. You can also work on things that interest you in your spare time to add to this.

" it would actually be helpful if u experienced guys took a look at this link and told me where I should focus hard " - you should focus hard on all of it. Firstly, you can't expect to cut corners when you're already opting not to take a full bachelors degree - you'll want your results on this course to suggest to employers that you could have aced a bachelors if you'd chosen to. Secondly, the more knowledge, the better. Some of that stuff, such as drawing and sound design, won't be used in a programmer's day to day work, but will come in very helpful during prototyping and making a portfolio. Lastly, if these classes come with recommended texts, buy/borrow them and read them! A lot of people are confident that they can pass a class without referring to the text, and often that is true, but the texts will contain so much more information that will be relevant and valuable to your career.

 

I am moving to the states because I have maintained a long distance relationship for 7years 2months and my girlfriend lives in Florida state. She is currently in her med school at NSU and her licence will only be valid in the Florida state unless she re tests, we have talked about it and decided Florida is the best place to be, as her father recently passed and her mother is alone, while most my family still have each other. Anyways without getting to personal its rlly just something I want to do, I think travelling would be great and what better place than sunny Florida.

As far as the second quote, I dont necessarily want to have a backup skill, I for sure want to be a programmer and have wanted to since grade 5, but I was wondering what other skills to add, from what Im gathering, I should stick to focusing hard on programming, maybe even writing my own small scale game engine?

Thanks for looking at my schools course link btw, ill defiantly take all of your advice. 

18 minutes ago, Bregma said:

Well, while I didn't work in the games industry, I did work for non-Canadian software firms that employed Algonquin grads, and their bona fides were respected as much as anyone's.  I also personally know Algonquin (and other CCAC) grads who work in the games industry in Ottawa.

You might want to start by questioning your assumptions.  Then, pursue your interests, because working all day on something that doesn't interest you is what really sucks and you'll do a crappy job at it and get fired.  Take the courses that interest you most and build your portfolio following you passion.  Build contacts through those efforts. The jobs will follow.

Awesome! Cool to hear someone who knows people who have completed the course. I for sure want to pursue games, always have and always will. I was stuck in grade 11 + 12 + 12x + 13x .. yea u get my point.. trying to become a Computer Systems Engineer because I assumed the world would only accept smart looking people and feared the talk of low paid code monkeys. I decided to drop all the BullSh*t and go for my dreams so thats why Im aiming for this course . When you say build contacts, does Algonquin offer us the chance to do this themselves? I was thinking if not, that I could travel to game conferences and C++ conferences as well as competing in game competitions and maybe even programming competitions?   

37 minutes ago, Bregma said:

When it comes to getting a (good) job, the most important thing isn't what you know or who you know, it's who knows you.

The college offers you a good opportunity to network, starting with classes full of fellow students and professors.  The institution is not going to help you make friends or build a reputation: that's solely your job.  By all means, attend conferences, join and contribute to open source projects, make and publish your own games.  Those are all excellent ways to network. Remember that in the end, it's people who make hiring decisions and they hire people, not portfolios or educations.

Well put, now that I think of it, I'm sure a lot of people struggle due to spending their days in school making amazing portfolios instead of networking and assisting in large scale projects that have been heard of by many. Would you say then, that taking my free time to build a small scale game engine would be a waste? Maybe I should instead try and gather a bunch of friends (Im sure Ill meet friends within the 3 years) to help develop the engine. We will be doing a group game in year 3 anyways but I also wanna take all my free time and throw it at programming. The course is kinda a joke, a couple friends who dropped out after year 1, told me that the prof had them look at youtube videos and such.But I did hear the prof teaching the coding courses is very well heard of, so If I can get on their good side I suppose that could be a good way in? Not trying to bash the course though, just stating that Ill have a lot of free time to work on what I want. 

5 hours ago, ItamarReiner said:

California (LA or SF), Texas (Austin or Dallas) or Washington State (Seattle/Bellevue.) Finding a job outside of these game hubs is going to be a whole lot tougher.

Yea, sure, but there are also great game jobs in Florida. They have Disney and Universal there as well, and today working from home is a relevant thing. I don’t think moving there bc it will give me a better shot is smart because I know I will be amazing at what I do, I am so passionate about game development and I know I will do what ever it takes to get there:) I have actually looked this up and there are dozens of jobs in Florida  but yea youre right about those places giving me a better chance. Thanks for the input. 

Can you? Sure.

Just beware that you don't compete in a vacuum.  You are competing against all the other applicants.  You've got a rather limited pool of jobs, and are part of a large group of people who want to work in games.

When a game studio has a pile of applications to review they sort them by their own priority. First to be interviewed are those who are known.  Then are the people who have industry experience, sorted by experience. Then those who don't have industry experience but have strong credentials for the job, usually including both a degree and a portfolio or a specific technology the company needs. After that, people who have weaker credentials, which seems to be the bucket you are in.

There are situations where they skip farther down in the list, particularly when the job cannot pay well so the company is looking for a less experienced or less educated worker. It is usually not as pleasant for the job, but it is a way in to the industry so you can start gaining industry experience and industry contacts. 

Because you don't have the background you probably won't be the first person called in for an interview, or the second. Your application will likely be sorted quite far down the list, and probably ignored for most of the best positions because they have so many applicants with stronger backgrounds on paper.  Your best bet is to have friends and acquaintances who can get you past the barriers and get you the interview. Either way, once you're in the interview you're being compared with others who are also being interviewed.

You will have a more difficult time than many other applicants, and you probably will be passed over for most jobs, but jobs still exist and people in your situation are hired.  I'd be sure to apply to lots of other jobs, too.