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[yaustar]

yaustar

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Topic link: http://www.forums.evilmana.com/index.php?topic=1058.0

[titch.ryan]

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you really had a tough time.

I'm glad I know what i want to do at Uni before the UCAS deadline.

Just hope I dont have as much trouble getting a job as you did.

[LMelior]

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Excellent article. 

You and I had almost completely different experiences (most obvious would be that I basically chose a career in aerospace engineering when I was about 12), but one thing we share was laziness.  My BS was first and foremost about getting the grades.  Unfortunately, most professor's teaching styles allow you to do that - doing well in the course does not mean you have to learn the material.  That's my main regret, that I didn't take some of the courses more seriously.  The material was there, the textbook was good, and the professors were approachable, but I only did just enough to get a good grade.

In graduate school it was a completely different atmosphere.  Very few courses were required, and those that were I planned to take anyway.  As a result I was much more focused on learning the material, which meant that I had to "re-learn" some of the basics that I had skimmed over in my undergraduate career.

Also another big difference is in getting a job.  I started applying to positions all over the US at the end of April this year.  I had my first interview (a phone interview) on Friday, May 4th, they flew me in for an in-person interview on Friday, May 11th, and I got a very generous offer on Tuesday, May 15th that I had to answer by the 25th.  They didn't even receive my follow-up letter.  I had two other interviews, but that was after I had already accepted this one.  One was for a job in El Segundo, CA though (basically Los Angeles), and apartments in the area run about $3000 a month for barely half the size.  That would've sucked.

Anyway, this wasn't for a job in the games industry, which I'm sure is much more difficult to get into.  I bet you don't regret accepting that first contract job at all.  If the games job market is anything like the aerospace one, a couple more years and you could probably get a job almost anywhere you want.  Just about every company seems to want candidates with a Master's and 2-4 years experience.  So breaking into the industry is definitely the biggest hurdle.

[yaustar]

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Anyway, this wasn't for a job in the games industry, which I'm sure is much more difficult to get into.  I bet you don't regret accepting that first contract job at all.  If the games job market is anything like the aerospace one, a couple more years and you could probably get a job almost anywhere you want.  Just about every company seems to want candidates with a Master's and 2-4 years experience.  So breaking into the industry is definitely the biggest hurdle.

I definitely don't regret taking that first contract but there will always be those 'what if' scenarios of what could of happened afterwards if I didn't accept the offer. Would have I got a better job somewhere else? Would I still be jobless? You are right though, experience is everything in the industry, once I get a few more games under my belt then I am fairly set . I just need to build up some skills and look at my possible options from this point.

Congrats on the job offer by the way, job hunting for the first job is always tiring and stressful in some cases.