Career choice help!

cartermatic

Hey everyone, my name is Carter and I am looking into what I want to do with my life.  I am 18 years old and I really want to get into a career in the video game industry.  I had always dreamed of designing games but after some research and reading I heard that many designers tend to lose their hobby of gaming, and that is something that I do not want to happen.  I want to always love playing games but I would also love my career to have something to do with them also.  Do any of you guys have any thought or career ideas that work with or alongside video games so that I am sort of around them alot?

Any help would be much appreciated.  And if any of you happen to be designers that still game please please post!  I had also thought about getting a degree in some sort of entertainment business stuff so that i could possibly help run conventions or gaming tournaments. But I'm not so sure about that one. 

My strong points are:

Very good at math

Pretty strong writer

Very very friendly and easy to work with (accepting of all ideas/ everything)

I am a good problem solver and can think of solutions to many things.

Weak points:

I can be lazy (only if it something that does not mean anything to me, is when i get lazy)

I can be dis-organized with physical items(real objects), although anything in a computer is neatly put away in folders

EDIT: I am open to ANY career options that involve video games in any way, shape or form. So think away with me!

Well, this is just a little bit about me to help you guys reply with. If any of you want more info just post or send me an inbox message and I would be more than happy to reply!

Thank you,

Carter

delete5230

My view, and I could only guess :

I would stay away from video games as a life.  Say your great at it, But your chances to be found are about the same as being a movie star.  Many go to school for it, many have the looks but few make it. Could you be the one ?... maybe but at a young age, I would not chance it.

Add to the fact that you will be constantly looking for another job every few years. Layoffs constantly near end of compleation of your projects. Hay, will they even pay you as prommised, that could be depending on success of the project. Maybe a game could be great, will the company market it right ?....Will they go bankrupt before projects end ?...You may not get paid !

 

You may someday find yourself 30 years old working as a keypuncher in some insurance office, with high school loans, scratching your head " how did this happen, don't you know how good I am ".

cartermatic

Hmm. interesting take on that. That does make sense though. But, something I am sort of trying to avoid is to directly get involved in the video game designing businnes. See, I want to be involved in video games. Anything about them. Not neccesarily the creating part. Whether it be, say, working for like Gunnar glasses helping with conventions and stuff, or possibly a community manager for a game company. Btw does anyone know anything about Community Manager positions? I find myself using various forums quite often and I notice community managers usually are well.. on forums but I know the job goes into much greater detail than just that, but i had thought that could be a possible career also. 

Cleffy

Most people don't know this, but core abilities in the Video Game Industry are writing and management.  However, to get any video game job, and I mean even working at gamestop takes luck and knowing people.  After that are skills essential to making video games.  Unlike 3D games, probably the easiest jobs to get are positions making 2D gambling games you see in Casinos, or serious game development for a government contractor.  You are looking at competing with maybe 100 other candidates opposed to several thousand.

The key to getting a more desirable position is getting passed the resume search filter first.  Then making your resume or sample sheet look impressive.  When an entry-level job says needs atleast 1 shipped title, they usually do not specify the position.  For example if you were a GM for an mmo when it ships, or you worked in QA on a title; that's a shipped title.  In your resume, everything they require or prefer in the job posting should atleast have a keyword on there.  Due to volume of resumes, most HR use a screening filter and filter all the candidates who don't.  You won't even get a response if they filter your resume.  There are only a couple who check every single application and resume.

As far as career paths in the Video Game Industry, probably the best to pursue is Computer Science at a State University.  With a Computer Science Major, you typically can get around the people who got a Bachelor's in Video Game Design.  Also most programers choose other fields outside of Video Games due to pay; so competition is lower.  If you can't find a position in Video Games, you can also fall back onto your degree to get a position in another career field.

If you want to design video games then get a writing major.  No one will take anyone seriously with a Game Design Degree.  There are also not that many people who apply with writing degrees for a Game Designer.  Like I said, writing is a desirable skill.  Knowing how to spell and use grammar correctly then learning how to properly break the rules plays a big role.  From there learning Video Game Design is pretty simple as you just need to learn how to navigate a game editor and learn a common scripting language like Python or LUA.  These can be done on your own.  The only problem with a writing degree is career options are limited.

If you want to make the art in a game, then give up.  Its as simple as that.  There are thousands of hopeful game artists graduating every 6 months.  Can you compete with someone who already has 5 years of practice?  Probably not.  Also unlike what most people think, Art does not take talent it takes practice.  Anyone can be a Video Game Artist with enough practice.  If you still want to be an artist, then get good at drawing, digital painting, and working with all aspects of 3D design.  Being decent at Drawing and Digital Painting are key regardless of position.

Being a producer takes only 1 thing, experience.  You have to be in the game industry for a couple years or take a gamble and make your own games to be a producer.

If you are looking at being the person at a CON, then pay attention to game developers.  The usually make a post when they are looking for people to man a con.

cartermatic

Thank you very much for this in depth reply Cleffy! And as for working for a Con, I was hoping for a more permanent position haha rather than an on-call type of job. But thank you for clarifying these things for me it helps me out a ton as I need to get things moving with my life.  Maybe I will pursue a degree in computer science and if I happen to be lucky I'll land myself a job with a good company. I was really thinking about the whole Community Manager type of spot too, but that job just seems like its not a very financially stable job. I can't think of any reason that position would see any sort of desirable salary unless im totally missing something about the job. It does sound like a fun job though. I love meeting and talking with new people. 

rpg_gunner

TRY TO ENTER A NEW WORLD, I UNDERSTAND YOU LOVE THE GAMING INDUSTRY BUT YOU ARE TOO YOUNG AND YOU CAN EXPLORE MORE, TRY TO SEARCH FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAT IS SOMEHOW INTERESTING TO YOU..