So I'm About To Go Into The Wild - Topic

rockonkenshin

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#21

Feb 11 2014 08:23am

Quote (labatymo @ Feb 11 2014 09:19am)

Game programming pays the best, it's the funnest, and all your friends will be jelly.

I'm not jelly of people pulling 80+ hour work weeks for the same pay that I get doing 40 hours and then getting laid off when your game doesn't sell as well as CoD.

http://indiegamereviewer.com/on-being-a-video-game-programmer-the-perks-and-pitfalls/

SCVonSteroids

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#22

Feb 11 2014 10:28am

Quote (0n35 @ Feb 11 2014 04:32am)

It should really be said there are two kinds of paths programmers take today, they either stick with an enterprise job and work up the chain (go into management if that's your interest) or they are contractors doing work for 6 months to at the most 3 years at a time. It depends on the person really. I've met those who have done contract work at IBM as well as Google and even startups and they love the change and moving around.

Personally I enjoy the feeling of job security, but I guess with a big enough resume that's enough job security for most in this field.

@op what you'll learn it's not what you learned in college that will interest them it's how quickly you adapt to new environments and what you build as well as the re-usability of your code and how well you maintain it. Interviewers from my experience love to hear what you do in your off time because if a lot of what you do is programming anyway then you're not only a good fit for them but they're a good fit for you. And that's what's important.

Very sound advice, greatly appreciated! I need to work on code re-usability for sure. I wouldn't say I spend all my spare time coding, but I do spend a fair amount every day on the subject, so I'm growing, not sure at what rate, but surely am.

Quote (labatymo @ Feb 11 2014 11:19am)

Game programming pays the best, it's the funnest, and all your friends will be jelly.

You have no basis for this statement so I'll assume it wasn't meant to be serious?

SCVonSteroids

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#23

Feb 11 2014 10:40am

Quote (rockonkenshin @ Feb 11 2014 11:23am)

Interesting read, thanks for linking this ^^ Offers a bit of insight on the life of a game programmer.

rockonkenshin

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#24

Feb 11 2014 11:53am

Quote (SCVonSteroids @ Feb 11 2014 11:40am)

Interesting read, thanks for linking this ^^ Offers a bit of insight on the life of a game programmer.

Yeah, it's an interesting topic. If you live, breathe and eat games and don't have a family and enjoy working 24/7 it's a great field. Otherwise not so much. I could never do it as I have a wife and interests outside of writing code.

Quote (SCVonSteroids @ Feb 10 2014 09:19pm)

As much as I enjoy game development and find it very interesting, I don't see myself doing it as a career tbh. Knowing I spent my whole life creating fake enjoyment for others (my point of view) would just kill me eventually I think. Though I wasn't aware this was the reality for game programmers, since a good one, you'd think, would be prized in a company doing exactly this? I imagine being established in a company like Blizzard for example, would be a pretty safe bet, you'd think? (NOT my goal btw)
Thanks again!

As an aside I really don't think there is such a thing as fake enjoyment. Enjoyment is merely just taking pleasure in something and if you derive pleasure from that thing it's just as real as any other.

Philosophy aside, companies like Valve and Blizzard are safe bets in terms of job security but they still work absurd hours. It's an unfortunate side effect of that niche of the industry.

This post was edited by rockonkenshin on Feb 11 2014 11:56am

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