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Jan 12 2018 12:46pm
Alright, so before I begin - Ill try to keep it as short as possible, but its your responsibility to read through so there are no confusions.

Im born in Pakistan, spent many years growing up in the US, came back to Pakistan. Went to Turkey lived in Turkey for four years where I also finished my undergrad etc.

Now, my US immigration paper work/procedure finally came through and ill be flying to the US in end of Feb, Ill get my green card on arrival and will apply for a citizenship and plan on

spending the next few years in the US. Ofcourse, its not possible to plan everything in life etc, but thats just a high level of my brain right now.

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I have the confidence and backing of my family both in US and here in Pakistan. However living in the US unemployed is not something I can keep up for a long time.
I either need to enroll in some sort of a school program for masters or get a job.

Im a fresh graduate but I have spent the last two years (of school) being hands on and I have experienced in medium to high degree the following -> web, android, game development.

My strongest suit is without a doubt android and I could slip in any company as a junior dev role but I am adamant that I want to be a game developer. Its what I have done for the last 6-7 months, its what I want to do in the immediate future.

I have mostly worked in Unity, and I know in the "real" industry sometimes unity developers are frowned upon etc, but in developing with unity and building for different platforms etc, I have been focusing on learning
not just the unity specifics, but core game dev concepts in general which I know will carry forward in any engine, i.e Unreal or in house. I am very committed/motivated but those things alone dont get you paid. So along with the coding
i have been working on my way of thinking and problem solving as a game developer because those are universal.

In the mean time I have done a lot of projects etc to push my claim if and when I eventually start looking for a job - i.e I am really enthusiastic, and historically Im good under clutch situations i.e interviews etc. I know what I know and I am
confident about that. No bullshit, straight up and to point is my approach with everything. What I want is, if and when im under scrutiny, i.e at a job hiring etc, I dont claim or want to be the most experienced person (because Im not), but I
want the interviewer/examiner etc to know for sure that this guy is damn motivated. I love game development and I want that to radiate through my projects and such. In that sense, I have a pretty "project hands on heavy" cv which I am proud of.

Heres what I dont understand though. When I get to the US I dont know how or where to start looking. I mean, when I look at the big companies that we hear about (even though I personally dont want to work in big companies (different debate)),
their requirements and such are way in over my head. Again, I have no doubt in my ability to slip in a company and be a valuable asset because of my persistence and motivation but I dont know where and how to start? I dont have any
contacts in the game dev industry in US. Im also really afraid that, I am more qualified to be an android native developer which might inevitably push me into an android dev role simply because game dev is a tougher niche to get into
and limited jobs. Ill be in Texas and while, Im free to roam around anywhere but my main aim atleast initially is to stay in texas where I have family near by, once I can get settled and once again get used to the american life style I can go solo.

Tldr; Im not the most experienced game developer but nor the least. Strictly speaking in job experience terms I have no job experience except for my interships and such which were all on native android. I think I have the right attitude and motivation
to be a game developer but eventually I will need a job to pay the bills as well as to have that accelerated growth and experience of working with like minded people all around you which will take my existing knowledge and attitude and level me up
very quickly in a short period of time. But, how do I begin? How do I know which companies to apply to? I dont know anything about these companies. My immigration status i.e being a green card holder will mean that I enjoy almost all of the main
rights as a us citizen which means that companies wont have to go out of their way etc to sponsor me etc. But how can I get myself shown to people and put myself out there?

Member
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Jan 12 2018 03:52pm
make a portfolio, apply to companies which are interesting to you... it's really that simple
game development work is pretty grueling, tbh i would stick to native android if you enjoy it

ps: sounds like you just need to actually try and apply, way too much bullshit in this post. it seems like you don't think you are qualified for a top tier company but you can get a job anywhere... which are very conflicting
just go out and bomb a few interviews, you'll learn quickly

This post was edited by Remembrance on Jan 12 2018 03:56pm
Member
Posts: 11,075
Joined: Sep 2 2015
Gold: 893,798.89
Jan 13 2018 06:42am
Quote (Remembrance @ Jan 13 2018 02:52am)
make a portfolio, apply to companies which are interesting to you... it's really that simple
game development work is pretty grueling, tbh i would stick to native android if you enjoy it

ps: sounds like you just need to actually try and apply, way too much bullshit in this post. it seems like you don't think you are qualified for a top tier company but you can get a job anywhere... which are very conflicting
just go out and bomb a few interviews, you'll learn quickly


Thanks for your response. I think you misunderstood me. What Im trying to say is, how do I know which companies to apply too? I mean, sure I can send my cvs in to the big companies like blziz/ea etc, and Im not saying I think
Im underqualified all Im saying is that to only apply to those big big companies (whose names I know) who get 1000s of people applying and have proper hiring cycles etc isn't the way to go.

What Im trying to say is how do I learn about the other companies who are small medium size enterprises. I dont know anything about the infrastructure in the US. I dont know how to isolate companies and to see which ones im interested in.

I cant just go on google and type, game dev jobs in texas. Ill only start applying once I get to the US. I dont want to have to apply right now and explain to the HR etc my whole situation. Im trying to get together a plan for when I am actually in the states.

I.e I cant go door to door asking if any company is a game dev company. Is there any sort of listing etc of all the companies that I can get? If there is I can go to them one by one and present myself and Id be pretty confident of getting a job.

This post was edited by mandarkkk on Jan 13 2018 06:48am
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