My name is Daniel, I'm 16 years old and a junior in high school and I have been doing some research on game development schools and I was wondering if I might be able to get some insight here. Money is tight for my family and I have been been looking a lot at Full Sail University of Florida and they sound promising but I don't know much about them besides what they offer as far as programs. What I would really like to know though would be what types of jobs can I get after graduating from their development program and what is the percentage of students placed in a job right after graduation or even before? Also, for someone who has attended Full Sail, what was the overall tuition you paid in total by the end of your bachelor degree program and were they, if needed, helpful to you as far as financial aid and scholarships? Thank you for your time reading.
-Daniel

The thing I find with a lot of game development programs is they try to make a jack of all trades graduate, most will have you do some basic modeling along with some sound design and programming. The problem with this is you will be behind in all of those things compared to someone who went to school specifically for computer science, animation, or audio design.

Right now it is rather hard to gauge the placement of schools (recently at least) because a lot of places are closing and a lot of veterans are out there looking for jobs combine that with the amount of people graduating from these game programs far out weigh the amount of entry level positions, and it comes rather hard to get a job.

Another thing is to realize that it will be very hard to get into a large company, many people are looking to apply to these large companies with very few openings avaible.

My advice is to start now(if you haven't) developing small games and understanding the math and programming behind videogames (even if you are more interested in art it will still help to know this), and if you want to be a game programmer I would personally say don't even go to a school that doesn't require calculus as part of the game development curiculum.

So after all that in my opinion you are better off researching videogame design and programming (if this is what you want, otherwise videogame art creation and asset pipelines) and go for a more specialized degree (a computer science or animation degree) while also working on your own game projects that you can show to companies when you graduate.

Anyways I hope this helps and good luck.

Quote: Original post by JonConley
So after all that in my opinion you are better off researching videogame design and programming (if this is what you want, otherwise videogame art creation and asset pipelines) and go for a more specialized degree (a computer science or animation degree) while also working on your own game projects that you can show to companies when you graduate.

Anyways I hope this helps and good luck.

What would a degree is computer science allow me to do?

A computer science degree allows for quite a few jobs.

http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/computer-science-degree.asp

A list of some of the more popular jobs for a computer science degree.

Quote: Original post by Danielpz94
What would a degree is computer science allow me to do?

Programming mostly.

Most of the industry folks on here seem to think that a specific degree is better then a game school degree. If you want to program do a computer science degree, art do a technical arts degree, sound/music do a music degree, etc.

Also for example with a normal computer science degree it will be easier to go get a job in other industrys then it will be with a game degree.

Is there any reason your not looking at all college/universities?

I agree with everything but the technical degree for art. Your best bet is a good animation bachelor's. This will give you the most qualifications and will give you better oppurtunities for jobs.

I say you will come out more qualified because instead of 2 years to learn material and practice it (how much you practice will show in your artwork more so then other places) you get 4 full years of classes to learn and practice. Granted you will have to go above and beyond the course subjects to be a top competitior but if that is what is desired, the effort must be put fourth.

Quote: Original post by Danielpz94
Choosing a Game School

View Forum FAQ (above). A lot of information about this question there.

Full Sail would be a good option if your someone who is willing to work hard, have a schedule that includes having labs at 5:00 in the morning, spending 40+ hours at school a week, never missing or being late for a class, and most of all prepare to learn the hard stuff. Also not a lot of people like math the game development program not only requires a lot of math knowledge but also requires the use of it. So simply if you don't like math I wouldn't recommend going into that program or any computer science program for that matter. I think the minimum knowledge you can have is Algebra 2 to enter the game development degree and it's strongly recommended to have taken pre calculus and trigonometry classes. On the bright side they do give you a math placement test and if you don't qualify to take the Calculus and Trigonometry course (which i believe is in the second month) they will place you in a basic class that's worth no credit or give you tutoring.

I've talked to many people that have graduated from full sail and are currently attending full sail ranging from people in the computer animation program, to film, to game development, and they have had nothing but good things to say about the school except for the tuition price of course. :)

I would also like to point to this excellent blog entry on game schools by Josh Petrie.

Frankly, its my personal feeling that you should get a traditional old fashioned CS degree, with all the lovely theory that goes with it. Languages can be taught easily enough, and you'll never have enough experience straight out of any college, no matter how many team projects you do. However the theory, and what goes with it, tends to be a lot harder to teach out in the field rather than in the classroom (as least, all the basics).

Quote: Original post by Ibasa
Is there any reason your not looking at all college/universities?

The reason I am not doing much research in college/universities is because I really do not know how to do much research to find schools that offer a programming or arts majors.