Hi,

I am sure the topic raised the eyebrow for some of you! (after all, this is a forum 'for' gamedev related threads and not the other way around). Eitherways, here it goes..

I am a game dev who was working in the industry and then..got laid off. Ever since then, life couldn't get less stressful! During this time, I have met so many other devs who have also been laid off irrespective of the number of years they have been in the game. Now, the problem really gets worse, since I am not a US citizen (yes, I am in US) , and am on an international visa here, I might have to soon pack my bags and go back to my native country. Going back is not bad at all, apart from the fact, that gamedev is still in a very nascent stage there. There just aren't many opportunities. So, employment is the key to maintain a valid visa status.

After giving it a lot of thought, I am thinking of staying away from gamedev jobs for the time being, given its job unstablity. This brings me to my current problem. I can't think of a domain/place where I can use my game development skills. I know graphics/simulation/visualization is huge, but I can't think straight and am left clueless where to go from here. What are some of the domains/companies where I can use my skills ?

Personally I went down the GameDev path as a Hobby rather than a career. In the meantime I fell into Sys Admin, which suited my other passion: Hardware. I think careers should always involve a combination of something you are passionate about and something that can earn a reasonable income. The amount you hope to have as income will shut some doors for you in the direction of your particular passion. Currently I do a combination of Sys Admin, Project, and Project Management work, which affords me an acceptable income (for the time being) while allowing me time to focus on my hobbies (those things that are not financially viable, but still interesting to me).

Consider industrial software. You can get a lot of interesting programming that crosses well with the game development field.

You can just apply for any programming jobs that match your main skills - which I assume would be C++? Of course you can look hardest for anything involving simulation or graphics, but I wouldn't be picky and also, I'd suggest working outside games is a good way to expand both the number of technologies you know, and your personal programming skill.

you would be suprised how often you use the same techniques outside of game dev, even websites need to manage resources effectively.

The military loves game programmers. Not just the directly, but contractors for military projects as well.

Generally they prefer to simulate what happens to expensive equipment and vehicles rather than actually building it and blowing it up. (They will eventually blow up the prototype equipment to verify the simulations, though.) They also prefer to train on simulators.

Then realize the field of augmented reality has gained an incredible amount of traction in the military. It isn't just stylized movie where all visible weapons are highlighted known threats are highlighted. Much of this is in early stages but it simple web searches will reveal incredible bits of technology.

While many of the jobs require government security clearance, some do not. It is an avenue you might consider.