Do you know what the percentage of people in QA who actually make it out of QA into other "higher" positions? Industry wide, it is maybe at its highest at 10%. If you've got 50-60 testers in your group, maybe 5 will be promoted within 3-5 years. Staying at around 10 bucks an hour for that kind of time hurts big time
Well - I'm not sure of any reputable school that gives a BS in "Game Software Development" (Digipen/Phoenix online does not count). This may be your problem - not a solid set of skills to work with. You can have all the friends you want, but if you can't perform under the gun, those friends are worthless.
Straight out of high school I jumped into game testing. It payed more than minimum wage, and looked like a way into the industry. Throughout three years I learned that in this position (which leads a track into Production jobs) as well as technical positions are extremely difficult to come by in the industry.
Personally, I couldn't deal with most of the crap that goes on behind the scenes in games, up to and including the insane work hours. Overall, I suggest that anyone whom loves games does not go into the industry, because more than likely, you will be making games you loathe rather than making games to be innovative. This is just my personal opinion, but is one of the reasons burn out in the industry is so high.
So I left the industry, got my BSc in Computer Science and Math, and now am starting my PhD, and have worked at some of the coolest places on earth (think Mars). I'd never, ever consider going back for a plethora of reasons.
For those thinking of getting into CS hoping to land a programming job, there are plenty of more fun, challenging, and well paying jobs out there for you. I'd really not reccomend it to any of the students I have contacts with.
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Jul 26th 2007 12:38AM (WoW)It's difficult to land a gaming job even with formal education
Aug 30th 2006 3:27AM (Joystiq)Do you know what the percentage of people in QA who actually make it out of QA into other "higher" positions? Industry wide, it is maybe at its highest at 10%. If you've got 50-60 testers in your group, maybe 5 will be promoted within 3-5 years. Staying at around 10 bucks an hour for that kind of time hurts big time
Well - I'm not sure of any reputable school that gives a BS in "Game Software Development" (Digipen/Phoenix online does not count). This may be your problem - not a solid set of skills to work with. You can have all the friends you want, but if you can't perform under the gun, those friends are worthless.
It's difficult to land a gaming job even with formal education
Aug 29th 2006 9:08PM (Joystiq)Straight out of high school I jumped into game testing. It payed more than minimum wage, and looked like a way into the industry. Throughout three years I learned that in this position (which leads a track into Production jobs) as well as technical positions are extremely difficult to come by in the industry.
Personally, I couldn't deal with most of the crap that goes on behind the scenes in games, up to and including the insane work hours. Overall, I suggest that anyone whom loves games does not go into the industry, because more than likely, you will be making games you loathe rather than making games to be innovative. This is just my personal opinion, but is one of the reasons burn out in the industry is so high.
So I left the industry, got my BSc in Computer Science and Math, and now am starting my PhD, and have worked at some of the coolest places on earth (think Mars). I'd never, ever consider going back for a plethora of reasons.
For those thinking of getting into CS hoping to land a programming job, there are plenty of more fun, challenging, and well paying jobs out there for you. I'd really not reccomend it to any of the students I have contacts with.
Just my two cents.