I am a VFX Camera tracker artist for Films and series & in this field for the last four years. I am from India.

I am 28 & attempted to do CS however quit it in between the second year, as I was doing a two year animation course alongside that & have been working ever since with a studio that gets a decent outsourced work from overseas.

However, I've had a second calling in the Games field & I have decided to make a career in Games.  I am trying to pursue an education in Canada where there are good Film schools & Universities that offer courses in Games Development & Design.

I am in a little dilemma as all the courses that I have searched in Canada, most schools offer only a year's Diploma in Games incl reputed Schools. This will not help me get a work permit in Canada.

My query was :

1. Is there a degree/diploma course available for Games in any Canadian university for the duration of a minimum of two years ? 

2. I know that a good portfolio holds a lot more value yet what is that level of education that will help me get a foothold in the Games Industry in Canada & help me make a career out of it ?

Kindly suggest choices as to the further course of action. Thank you! 

Raunak, I can't answer your question 1 but let me answer Q2 and offer another piece of advice based on the fact that you are already a professional in an arguably-related field.

2. Education is not the panacea for your situation. Get started working on games now. Make games of your own (even if it's board games or card games or party games), and make games in collaboration with others. And start networking now, too. Find game companies in your local area (see gamedevmap.com)

3. You didn't say what specialty you want to pursue in games. Read my FAQ 7 (about types of game jobs) and then read some of my FAQs about your chosen job type, and read my FAQ 41 about switching into games from a different career (the advice differs considerably from the advice for 18-year-olds trying to break in). 

When you have done your reading, if you have follow-up questions about breaking into games, post them here in the Games Career Development forum. 

Just out of curiosity, why Canada?

There are many game studios worldwide that you could apply to if you're willing to relocate all that way. Is there a secondary reason you're limiting your search to just one country?

Hey Brain.  The reason I'm relocating to Canada, is because my Uncle stays in BC, who's been encouraging me to explore around Canada since the last couple of years. I agree that there are jobs worldwide and I'd love to move around in the future. But primarily, this is just for Family reasons. Thanks so much for the advice!

On 5/30/2019 at 1:55 AM, Tom Sloper said:

Raunak, I can't answer your question 1 but let me answer Q2 and offer another piece of advice based on the fact that you are already a professional in an arguably-related field.

2. Education is not the panacea for your situation. Get started working on games now. Make games of your own (even if it's board games or card games or party games), and make games in collaboration with others. And start networking now, too. Find game companies in your local area (see gamedevmap.com)

3. You didn't say what specialty you want to pursue in games. Read my FAQ 7 (about types of game jobs) and then read some of my FAQs about your chosen job type, and read my FAQ 41 about switching into games from a different career (the advice differs considerably from the advice for 18-year-olds trying to break in). 

When you have done your reading, if you have follow-up questions about breaking into games, post them here in the Games Career Development forum. 

Hey Tom, 

 Thanks so much for the plethora of valuable information and guidance that you've shared here. I shall pay heed to this once I'm within the pipeline. I myself am an ENFT-P by the way. Any Pointers?

7 hours ago, Raunak said:

Any Pointers?

Read more. 

17 hours ago, Tom Sloper said:

Read more. 

^^ Great advice for life as a whole, rather than just gamedev!