Hey I'm new to this site so if I'm breaking any forum rules let me know.

A little bit about me:

I'm an Irish student currently studying an extended degree in Computer Science, and currently on placement in Switzerland working on a game development project. I've always dreamed of working in a AAA studio like any student who wants to make games, but the industry is almost non-existent in Ireland. I had always planned to apply for internships at North American studios between my 3rd and 4th year of uni (i.e. apply at the end of the year) with a dozen or so smaller projects and a handful of larger, more complex projects displaying my competency in both C# and C++. I'm currently working on that in addition to soaking up as much knowledge as I can about game development (lifecycle, design patterns and principles etc.). Thing is, I occasionally hear about the difficulty in getting a job in NA, be it an internship, associate or even senior level role in a company if you don't have the right to work there. 

If anyone can shine some light on the subject for me (and possibly give me some advice), that would be great. If my chances are slim or nonexistent in getting a junior role at a North American studio, and there isn't any industry in Ireland to apply to when I graduate, then what options do I have? I know that there are studios in England and Scotland but even there I'd imagine they would give preference to local candidates.

Cheers

Adam

Hi there,

I would suggest taking a look a Ubisoft Graduate Program. Unfortunately, the current year deadline was February 28th, but if you are about to graduate sometime between now and next year, it would be good opportunity for you. Also, note only NA studio for the program is the Ubisoft Toronto but I presume the studio selection is decided by them. 
Since, you are in Ireland, Rare UK had some internship positions for programmers open until January this year and will reopen in October/November 2019.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Thanks for the replies, the information you gave me was really helpful:

3 hours ago, Tom Sloper said:

Welcome, Adam. You're not breaking any rules, so don't worry about that.

The bad news: what you've heard about getting a US work visa is true - and the situation is worse under the current government administration. Canada might be less difficult. The more experience you have, the better your chances. 

Yes. "Local" means "within easy daily commuting distance." US hirers also give preference to locals. I wrote an article on "the American dream", and you might also want to read my article on living in a game company vacuum  and my article explaining why companies prefer locals. 

If your main goal is to work in AAA, that can be done without moving to North America. Getting a job in North America is not impossible. Just extremely difficult. If there was a known and reliable path (referring to your subject line), everybody would be doing it. You have to create your own path.

I had a read through your articles and must admit they were fantastic reads, very funny in a blunt way (and sadly quite relatable). I think in future if I have any more queries I just pull up one of your articles. :)

3 hours ago, Viniest Jester said:

Hi there,

I would suggest taking a look a Ubisoft Graduate Program. Unfortunately, the current year deadline was February 28th, but if you are about to graduate sometime between now and next year, it would be good opportunity for you. Also, note only NA studio for the program is the Ubisoft Toronto but I presume the studio selection is decided by them. 
Since, you are in Ireland, Rare UK had some internship positions for programmers open until January this year and will reopen in October/November 2019.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

This was actually quite a relief to know. I had no idea Ubisoft regularly recruited for such a program. Sadly I'm currently doing my placement year and still have 2 more years left of school before I can apply. On the bright side that's plenty of time to become a better developer.

Really appreciate the replies

Cheers

Adam