A persons character, how pro active they are, willingness to learn and simply how they show up each day is for more important that skill set. Completely agree, be the person you would want to work with.
I have a BS in Computer Science and an MS in Information Systems. I’ve shipped multiple UE games. I’ve networked for jobs at GDC, Unreal Fest, and PAX West. After 6 years of applying for AAA/AA jobs, I’ve still not received a single job offer. It’s unfortunate, but the questioner should consider shipping their own games and building their own company. If you can’t join them, beat them.
I'm a teacher and I just enjoy making game and sometimes I make games for kids in the classroom. So, in a way, that can be like having a game dev job 😅
It really depends also on what kind of position you're interested in. I started out working as a mostly backend focused dev, since I thought that any kind of coding experience would hopefully help me get a job in games, but fast forward a few years and no large company is interested in hiring me for actual game dev positions. The "best" feedback I got was that I could build them a website / backend, but not a game XD I've had a better experience applying to smaller / indie'ish size companies where at least I was treated as an actual applicant and got at least some chance(s) at an interview, but even there it's difficult to get any job offers. In the years I've applied to game dev jobs (on and off over the years) I've only ever had 1 offer, which I ended up having to pass on due to life plans changing 😅 and after working as developer for 8+ years and also living in a country with nearly no game dev companies I mostly have given up on probably getting a job in games at all and will probably just keep working on my own games which I hopefully can release eventually. (which is pretty dang hard since I'm finding game design difficult XD)
One of the best bits of advice I was once given is that most job specs are looking for a unicorn. They don't exist. If you can cover about 50% of what they're asking for, it's still worth applying. ☺
Thank you so much for making this video, its really helpful . I have one question to ask actually most of the companies ask for the portfolio, may you please suggest what is the best way to create a portfolio that's stand outs, also is it okay to make a portfolio by watching course videos, tutorials and reading books? What kind of projects we should make to show portfolio and what should be highlighted in those projects?
While I think this is all sensible, I would caution viewers that things are different around the world. In the UK, coders get paid less than in the US across the board and the gap between enterprise and game dev is higher. Also in the UK there's still a shortage of tech workers. For our recent hires, they had been looking roughly 2 weeks before being hired. 6 months as a junior in enterprise in the UK would suggest that they're doing something very wrong. Game dev I'm not so sure. Finally, while I agree that having a bachelors or masters doesn't push your CV to the top of the pile, having one will affect the manner in which you answer questions because good degrees change the way you think - they are not a ticket into any industry.
Ok, this sh*t is not only my country's problem - junior/entry positions looks like that worldwide (typical is - 1-2 years of exp, released games (AAA type is prefered), Zenject, patterns, LINQ, knowing Richter and Clean Code and keeping whole books in memory all the time, repeating them in mind before sleep + any 3-5 of more advanced stuff place here)
Thanks for this. This is mostly an algo/support comment but this is some advice that I think will help me a ton. Im currently back in school for a BS in Social Work (I'm in my 30's on disability for my mental health) but I've been trying to learn Game Dev stuff on the side. This genuinely is helpful advice for me to get back into the working world.
@@Unity3dCollegeThanks for asking. I don't specifically have a plan anymore. I wanted do counseling, helping others with similar mental health problems, but I've heard that it can be pretty mentally taxing and I still need to get more stable myself. Hopefully I can get a job at a Care Center or something similar. I should start small. I'm just finishing the degree and hoping that I can use Game Dev in some way to help others with their mental health (and just to have a hobby). Like with exposure therapy or just an interesting story idea or gameplay. Nothing solid though. Its just a lot of talk but I think having the tools will be helpful.
Complaining on the internet and acting like a victim is surely a bad idea if you want to become someone "nice to work with". I guess that's a good piece of advice...
Hello, do you think it's better and easier to try other jobs with related skillsets such as c# software development first to build up experience, and then try to get into the game dev industry?
Pretty funny seeing people leaning unity and thinking they can get a job in AAA or even AA studio. Entire games industry uses C++ not C#. only engine that does use C# is Unity. Unity is at least10 years behind industry standard. When you go to AAA studio and ask for a job they will value experience in Unreal engine WAY WAY more than Unity. Why? There are two reasons 1) They use Unreal DUH! CDPR recently switched to Unreal and are expanding into US and Canada with two new studios I believe. Who do you think they need a Unity pleb making 2D platformers or Unreal Chad working with cutting edge tools and C++? 2) Unreal is much closer to a AAA studios internal engine than unity is. For starters they both use C++. Unreal also has an excellent frame works built for First person and Third Person games which is similar to what rest of the industry uses. Unity simply does not prepare you for AAA development period. If your a Unity dev then your most likely working at a mobile game, VR, Enterprise or some small indie studio. All of these usually don't have a lot of funding and small team sizes. meaning less position available.
thx for this :) unreal skills are definitely good if you want to work on games built in unreal, but to be honest it's not very hard to switch between engines once you have a bit of experience. also those mobile & enterprise places tend to have a lot of funding :)
I won't say the "Entire games Industry" uses C++ and Unreal. There are a few AAA games made in C# and Unity. Trying to apply directly for a AAA position will be more of a challenge than starting at a small indie studio. My personal opinion is that the last few years there has not been great games and innovations coming out of the AAA industry and all the "fun" stuff came out of the indie space...so nothing wrong starting there using Unity and C# to get experience.
Idk I see a lot of postings for unity devs and it really has the most support for devs and a huge community. As long as Unity as a company doesn't do another stupid thing, it should continue to grow.
I'm curious as to what you think about the 'Unity Certified Associate/Professional/Expert: Programmer' certifications. Would they help one boost one's credibility? Or are they largely ignored?
What did you do in those 2 years of applying? Did you work other jobs? I wouldn't be able to stand being unemployed for such a long period. Still at high school tho, doing a grad programming course based on c# in Belgium. O.. and a happy new year everybody!
Thank you for your words! I will continue trying and joining game jams until I reach it!
Happy new year Jason! My resolution is to try to develop better balance between my day-job, family-life, and my gamedev/youtube side-gig.
I got into it to make my own games as a hobby cause its fun. doing this as a job sounds terrible.
A persons character, how pro active they are, willingness to learn and simply how they show up each day is for more important that skill set. Completely agree, be the person you would want to work with.
I have a BS in Computer Science and an MS in Information Systems. I’ve shipped multiple UE games. I’ve networked for jobs at GDC, Unreal Fest, and PAX West. After 6 years of applying for AAA/AA jobs, I’ve still not received a single job offer. It’s unfortunate, but the questioner should consider shipping their own games and building their own company. If you can’t join them, beat them.
What games have you shipped? I'd like to see
I'm a teacher and I just enjoy making game and sometimes I make games for kids in the classroom. So, in a way, that can be like having a game dev job 😅
Look into Legends of Learning.
Haha, I'm a software developer and enjoy making games I'd like to play (simple multiplayer games to start then I'll make more complex ones :D)
That's great!! @@captainnoyaux
sounds fun!
It really depends also on what kind of position you're interested in. I started out working as a mostly backend focused dev, since I thought that any kind of coding experience would hopefully help me get a job in games, but fast forward a few years and no large company is interested in hiring me for actual game dev positions. The "best" feedback I got was that I could build them a website / backend, but not a game XD
I've had a better experience applying to smaller / indie'ish size companies where at least I was treated as an actual applicant and got at least some chance(s) at an interview, but even there it's difficult to get any job offers. In the years I've applied to game dev jobs (on and off over the years) I've only ever had 1 offer, which I ended up having to pass on due to life plans changing 😅
and after working as developer for 8+ years and also living in a country with nearly no game dev companies I mostly have given up on probably getting a job in games at all and will probably just keep working on my own games which I hopefully can release eventually. (which is pretty dang hard since I'm finding game design difficult XD)
My new year's resolution is the same as last year's 1920x1080.
One of the best bits of advice I was once given is that most job specs are looking for a unicorn. They don't exist. If you can cover about 50% of what they're asking for, it's still worth applying. ☺
Thank you so much for making this video, its really helpful . I have one question to ask actually most of the companies ask for the portfolio, may you please suggest what is the best way to create a portfolio that's stand outs, also is it okay to make a portfolio by watching course videos, tutorials and reading books? What kind of projects we should make to show portfolio and what should be highlighted in those projects?
While I think this is all sensible, I would caution viewers that things are different around the world. In the UK, coders get paid less than in the US across the board and the gap between enterprise and game dev is higher. Also in the UK there's still a shortage of tech workers. For our recent hires, they had been looking roughly 2 weeks before being hired. 6 months as a junior in enterprise in the UK would suggest that they're doing something very wrong. Game dev I'm not so sure.
Finally, while I agree that having a bachelors or masters doesn't push your CV to the top of the pile, having one will affect the manner in which you answer questions because good degrees change the way you think - they are not a ticket into any industry.
Ok, this sh*t is not only my country's problem - junior/entry positions looks like that worldwide (typical is - 1-2 years of exp, released games (AAA type is prefered), Zenject, patterns, LINQ, knowing Richter and Clean Code and keeping whole books in memory all the time, repeating them in mind before sleep + any 3-5 of more advanced stuff place here)
Thanks for this. This is mostly an algo/support comment but this is some advice that I think will help me a ton. Im currently back in school for a BS in Social Work (I'm in my 30's on disability for my mental health) but I've been trying to learn Game Dev stuff on the side. This genuinely is helpful advice for me to get back into the working world.
What's the plan w/ the social work degree?
@@Unity3dCollegeThanks for asking. I don't specifically have a plan anymore. I wanted do counseling, helping others with similar mental health problems, but I've heard that it can be pretty mentally taxing and I still need to get more stable myself. Hopefully I can get a job at a Care Center or something similar. I should start small.
I'm just finishing the degree and hoping that I can use Game Dev in some way to help others with their mental health (and just to have a hobby). Like with exposure therapy or just an interesting story idea or gameplay. Nothing solid though. Its just a lot of talk but I think having the tools will be helpful.
Complaining on the internet and acting like a victim is surely a bad idea if you want to become someone "nice to work with". I guess that's a good piece of advice...
I'm curious to see the games this individual published...
It's really easy once you turn players into payers.
Great talk
Hello, do you think it's better and easier to try other jobs with related skillsets such as c# software development first to build up experience, and then try to get into the game dev industry?
Pretty funny seeing people leaning unity and thinking they can get a job in AAA or even AA studio. Entire games industry uses C++ not C#. only engine that does use C# is Unity. Unity is at least10 years behind industry standard. When you go to AAA studio and ask for a job they will value experience in Unreal engine WAY WAY more than Unity. Why? There are two reasons
1) They use Unreal DUH! CDPR recently switched to Unreal and are expanding into US and Canada with two new studios I believe. Who do you think they need a Unity pleb making 2D platformers or Unreal Chad working with cutting edge tools and C++?
2) Unreal is much closer to a AAA studios internal engine than unity is. For starters they both use C++. Unreal also has an excellent frame works built for First person and Third Person games which is similar to what rest of the industry uses. Unity simply does not prepare you for AAA development period.
If your a Unity dev then your most likely working at a mobile game, VR, Enterprise or some small indie studio. All of these usually don't have a lot of funding and small team sizes. meaning less position available.
thx for this :)
unreal skills are definitely good if you want to work on games built in unreal, but to be honest it's not very hard to switch between engines once you have a bit of experience.
also those mobile & enterprise places tend to have a lot of funding :)
I ported my objective c 4 player Mahjong game to Unity, minus the network code. But next game will be using UE5 its so much better.
I won't say the "Entire games Industry" uses C++ and Unreal. There are a few AAA games made in C# and Unity.
Trying to apply directly for a AAA position will be more of a challenge than starting at a small indie studio.
My personal opinion is that the last few years there has not been great games and innovations coming out of the AAA industry and all the "fun" stuff came out of the indie space...so nothing wrong starting there using Unity and C# to get experience.
Idk I see a lot of postings for unity devs and it really has the most support for devs and a huge community. As long as Unity as a company doesn't do another stupid thing, it should continue to grow.
I'm curious as to what you think about the 'Unity Certified Associate/Professional/Expert: Programmer' certifications. Would they help one boost one's credibility? Or are they largely ignored?
Those are just sales. No credibility.
What did you do in those 2 years of applying? Did you work other jobs? I wouldn't be able to stand being unemployed for such a long period. Still at high school tho, doing a grad programming course based on c# in Belgium. O.. and a happy new year everybody!
Yes worked some enterprise programming until the game job
happy new year to all