Hey guys Im 25 years old and want to get into making games. Let me restate that: I want to make a long career in the game industry while making a decent living. I have done about 1/2 a semester of C++ at local community college but thats all I got in programming so far- I have quite a bit of college under my belt but still w/ no degree''s. Im not sure I even want to program- maybe Im better suited at marketing, business, management???????? I know I want to make games though and have a few ideas that have been clunking around my dome. Can neone put me on track to my life''s ambition? Any help would be appreciated- anmes, places, phone #''s, nething... PS Im interested in transfering to SJSU or SCU in San Jose, but dont know that either school can get me to the promised land- But there are sure alot of companies I wouldnt mind working for in that area. School and degree aside, Ill drop everything I have and take the first thing smoking to be a tester, or just get someone coffee just to get my foot in the door. This is my dream- help make it a reality..........

Not to dampen your spirits or anything, but getting a job in Silicon Valley these days takes an act of God. Also, if you are from another state other than CA I would strongly urge you to look elsewhere. No offense, but it seems like 25% of the working population here is from out of state. Makes it kind of hard for native Californians to find work. Then again if you''re from out-of-state or out-of-country, these asshole corporate managers (who usually are not native Californians themselves) tend to dig you guys. Good luck

Your best bet is to figure out exactly what sort of job you want. The more precisely you can define the job you want the closer you will be to getting it. Have alternatives, sure, but make sure you define them as precisely as possible. After you have figured this out talk to people doing the kind of work you are interested in to see whether that would be as good as you hoped. Take a look at the following site for a description of the different game industry jobs:

http://www.igda.org/BreakingIn/

Hope this is some help,
Hamish

Not sure if the offer is valid anymore, but my comp sci teacher told us that EA was hiring testers for the summer, and is near the San Jose area (I think? I didn''t really look into it) Check the EA site maybe, and see what it says. Might help get your foot in your door doing something like that

love it,then do it!!!

Go to Austin/Texas instead - here are the several reasons:

1. The campus at Austin will give you a superior education as opposed to the two other schools you are considering.

2. While the marketplace sucks out here housing prices have continued to rise another 9-10% this year. Rent is a little better than it used to be but you are still talking about $1100 to $1800/month for an apartment. You may be able to find cheaper rent but it starts to get shady below that price.

3. If you can find just a room to rent you may be OK but with that comes the instability of the household''s whims towards renting a room out.

4. The Silicon Valley ranks second on the shit-ometer for traffic. It''s WAY better than a year ago but it still sucks.

5. While you will not earn as much in Austin your BUYING power is SIGNIFICANTLY higher. This means that when you add the ins and outs of your finances you will find your dollar lasting A LOT longer.

6. The competition out here for software weenies is pretty high. Given that you have little experience and only some education - well, I''ll be blunt: Start at tech support, maybe get into QA then you move to development. All the while keep trying to get into the game industry. This process works if you are LUCKY. There are many other people out here with better resumes. If you want to do marketing busdev, etc.. it''s probably even harder - but I would decide before coming out here.

Mind you, I am not trying to squash your dreams - I''d love to be doing game development vice writing security software but I would take a STRONG look at other options before coming here with your level of experience. Most importantly, FINISH SCHOOL. I never finished my Nuclear Engineering degree and it haunts me when interviewing for higher positions. If worst comes to worst you can always fall back on your education to keep food in your mouth while you find the job you really want.

Lastly, NETWORK! NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK!!!. The last three jobs I had out here (Silicon Valley) I walked into the door and was hired - not because I''m GOD or good looking - it''s because I knew people there and they WANTED me working there. My last W-2 was well into 6 figures. I would NEVER have gotten near that mark if it was not for friends in the business I do. So - I would advise that you start getting your name in the field. Start writing articles and improving your knowledge, go to the conferences and network. Most companies hire first from word of mouth first out here and I would imagine that is the case almost anywhere.


Good Luck -
#dth-0

test

thanks guys