I''m just wondering what the games industry looks like on the recruitment front, particularly in the UK. I''ve read reports of a few companies having to shed staff, and some small Indies going down under. Are the recruiters tending to take in more experienced staff, or is there still room for a junior to break into the industry?

I think it is pretty tough at the moment as a lot of smaller developers have gone down. On the flip side the big guys like Climax are going from strength to strength and hiring all the time.

Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions (www.obscure.co.uk)
Game Development & Design consultant

When they do hire though, would they prefer to hire juniors for their low starting salaries and training possibilities, or veterans so that stuff can get done quickly?

They want veterans that are prepared to work insane hours for half of what they''d get in the business world.

And they gladly get them too.

Plenty of hungry unemployed people out there.. no need to hire and train someone, you can (as a previous poster said) hire a battle-scarred vet for the same cost and not spend the first 6 months teaching them about the business.

Like any other business during these times, there are winners and losers.. big companies with solid brands are doing OK, small indie studios are going down the drain (at least here in California that''s true, and everywhere from what I''ve heard).

It''s a *bad* time to be looking for a job most anywhere, unless you''re into biotechnology or security! Gaah!

Well I have no idea how it is in the UK, but here in California, I got a job in games only a couple months out of college. A friend of mine just got a job as well. And I know of at least one or two other places that are interviewing.

Sure that''s only anecdotal evidence. But I get the impression that this whole bad-economy thing is really overexaggerated. I mean, yes it''s probably harder to get a job now than a couple years ago. But there are still lots of companies out there, still doing business as usual, still making a profit, and still hiring as usual.

As for your question about veterans vs juniors.. it''s generally more valuable for them to pay a higher salary for a veteran guy that knows what he''s doing. The thing about software development, is that a small team of experts can get far more accomplished than a large team of average guys.

But that''s not to say it is impossible to break in. You just gotta show them that you can hit the ground running.

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Original post by WoolyLoach


It''s a *bad* time to be looking for a job most anywhere, unless you''re into biotechnology or security! Gaah!

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