Previous Experience on Unrelated Jobs

creamsodaser

Hello everyone,

my name is Rodrigo (from Brazil) and i'm currently trying switching carrers from industrial engineering to 3d art. I have full support from my family and friends but i'm still learning, at a steady pace and starting to finish pieces i consider portfolio-worthy.

But my art is not the question here, i know i have a lot to improve and i feel i'm getting there, the so called industry standards, a few steps at a time.

Now is what has been bugging me lately:

Should i describe my previous experiences as an Industrial Engineer on my resume session of the Portfolio? ,they're mostly unrelated to a 3d art freelance work but yet.. it's a part of who i am, does this information adds something to my portfolio, or should it just be cut out from it and focus on any (future) art experience i might gather?

slipsius

Use it for the time being until you have more experience as an artist. Have two sections. "Relevant Work Experience" and "Past Work experience". put the relevant work first. Industrial engineering still involves design, does it not? So its not completely useless either. It could actually help a lot when you create your own designs.

But ya, until you can have a completely filled out resume with only 3d art experience, keep it on. It shows employers that you can hold a job, and work in a team, and all that stuff. Plus, it's not like you`re the first to switch careers. So don't worry about it hurting you. It shouldnt

creamsodaser

Thank you slipsius, having two different sections is actually a great idea, much appreciated!

AlecMoody

What kind of engineering were you doing and does it relate to the kind of video game art you want to work on? For example, if you are modelling cars for a racing game, being an experienced mechanic is a huge plus.