Internships

Higuy

I'm sure this kind of stuff is asked here all the time... but I figured I'd post here since most people have a lot of experience with these types of things.

I'll keep it simple though:

I want to get my foot in the door at a large games company (Bethesda in Rockville). They have a job opening for an Intern in Quality Assurance.

I'm a level designer and artist, worked on mods (all released) and some indie stuff (not yet released). I've seen a lot of people say that taking this kind of route is the best for getting your foot in the door at large companys and to start moving up. However, I'm assuming it is pretty hard and competitve to get this job (any job in the games industry, but this one in particular since its testing games). For example, applying is simply an all online process, so, what can you do to make yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd and thousands of emails they are most likely going to get (besides from the usual, have a strong portfolio and resume)?

Sorry if I'm missing anything here. I'm still working on my portfolio / resume which I will link when they are in a more presentable state - but I really wanted to ask this question to know what others thought on the matter so I could prepare a bit better

Thank you,
Lucas

Torch

The fact that you're working on some mod stuff (I'm assuming since its Bethesda this is Oblivion/Skyrim mod work) will help a lot I think, it shows you have an active interest in this line of work and have taken initiative to study and find out more about it.

If there's any way for you to meet Bethesda staff at any upcoming events, go for it. A lot of work can be found through contacts and recommendations, if you happen to meet them and show how enthusiastic you are it would likely help out a lot. Other than that standing out will be kinda tough I imagine, since QA roles get a lot of applicants! Hope you manage to get it though, sounds like a great opportunity - please keep us updated

BradMyers82

Unfortunately, I think the main way is if you know someone at the company. But like Torch said, if there is a opportunity for you to meet some of the guys in person (like a game conference or something) that's probably your best bet. Meeting you in person definitely makes a world of difference.

Another possibility is looking up people on linked in or something, and sending an email explaining your situation, but some people get irritated with that (I don't, but I know some do). So that could be a bit risky.

However, if you do get a job in QA, it is indeed a good way to eventually get the position you want. I know of a few people first hand that were successful with that. Good luck dude!

Higuy

Thank you for the comments. As stupid as this may sound, I didn't realize there was another page at their website more dedicated towards actual game development jobs, so I may want to apply for a Level Design position as well - would it be a good idea to apply for multiple job openings in this case, or would this make me actually look less qualified?

Also, I heard from some others on a different website that QA is literally one of the worst jobs in the industry - I've heard my own fair share of horror story's, but is this always the case?

Torch

Have you thought about freelancing? I haven't seen your work but if you're good enough you could side jobs for static props, environments, etc. to get some experience and go pro (not sure if you've been doing this already.)

QA is ok, its not the greatest. I worked at Sega QA-ing for a while and trying to work on a folio in the evenings, its difficult and having to test the same game again and again kinda does your head in, but it is a good foot in the door and beats stacking shelves at a supermarket! Just be prepared to spend a lot of time in front of a monitor if you go this route