Getting a job in U.S or Canada without a degree..
polycounter lvl 3
Hi there!
As the title suggests, i'm interested in knowing how to or if it's possible to get work in the U.S or Canada without having any sort of game development degree. I have talked to a friend about this and he claims it's hard in the U.S which does sound true giving today's situation in murica, so my main question is then Canada.
If anyone have any experiences they want to share it would be killer.
Thanks
As the title suggests, i'm interested in knowing how to or if it's possible to get work in the U.S or Canada without having any sort of game development degree. I have talked to a friend about this and he claims it's hard in the U.S which does sound true giving today's situation in murica, so my main question is then Canada.
If anyone have any experiences they want to share it would be killer.
Thanks
Replies
if so it shouldn't have much bearing over whether you get a job or not. If you have a killer portfolio most studios wont care.
However, if you are living outside of these countries it can be helpful for applying for a visa as governments require more traditional proof that you should be hired rather than a local citizen.
http://www.h1bvisa.info/h1b_visa_requirements
there you go , there is also the option of an o1 visa but that ones even harder to get
It seems so backwards that 3 years of work experience = 1 year of University/College.
I've heard many people state that they learned more the first year at a job than they learned through 4 years of college.
O1 visa is really hard to get like Ravenslayer mentioned. You need to win competitions, be published in trade publications, speak at GDC ie: no small feat.
That's the only time the answer for the "Should I go to school for game art?" question is yes. Even then you can get a more useful degree that tangentially relates to game development and still qualify.
I get why it's a thing because there are many fields whose qualifying curriculum is far beyond what someone does regularly on the job.
Canada seems easier though. Mainly thinking about Montreal since it's one of the worlds hotspots for studios.
Rafael Grassetti (originaly from Brazil) said in an Art Cafe episode that having that enabled him to work in the US, and now he's in the process of getting his green card for permanent residency.
https://grassetti.wordpress.com/
Lots of Euro students actually are lucky in the sense that they're education is free or subsidized. North American visa requirements don't care if you graduated from a shit school or expensive fancy school (or whether you have a portfolio or not) as long as your degree is from a recognized institution.
It's pretty much impossible to get a US visa without a degree right now.
Things might change in the future.
Infact I personally know a few guys with 15+years experience and finalists for Unearthly + Dominance War who aren't eligible for a US Visa of any kind.
(If you're already there you're fine).
You can work off site while a full time student in Canada:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work-offcampus.asp
Obviously you should pick a city for your school where there are lots of work.
U.S., you can check into an M-1 student visa. Which is for vocational institutions, like Gnomon.
http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/students-and-exchange-visitors/students-and-employment
Freelancer wise, I'd get a tourist visa. Come in E3 or GDC time. Network like hell and hopefully come back home with a remote contract deal.
USA: H1-B path is not available beacause you have no degree. Check O-1 visa and maybe EB-1… just to know that they exists.
Canada: google «Canada express entry». No degree needed. But there are some requirements, do your research.
Basically just register in the system and find yourself an employer. You know how it's done, yeah? Check company websites, apply for positions, send 'em portfolio and if they like you they will get you through system.
Best of luck on your quest and just picking up on what Seth was mentioning.
If any artists reading this are near north London and would like to try your hand at Lecturing we would love to hear from you (University of Hertfordshire).
We can pay you for the day and I can fit in all skillsets, animation, rigging, technical, modelling, material and so on. Happy to sort our a reference letter as well.:thumbup: The students are really nice and will see you as a rock star.
If you can not do it during the day time I have set up an evening conference for students and local artists to pop in. There is an example talk on the front page - http://www.daconference.com/
http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/employment/nafta.html.
http://canada.usembassy.gov/visas/doing-business-in-america/professions-covered-by-nafta.html
(Using the Graphic Designer profile)
Edit:: Found one Canadian Animator that went under a TN-Visa to Bungie, back in 1999. It seemed for him, that Hiring a Immigration Lawyer was key in making sure all documents fit the correct wording. i.e. Graphic Designer
I currently live in Ireland, and most of the bachelor degrees are, to be honest, waste of money(4k euro/year). Of course, I mean they are waste of money for someone like me, who tries to work as Character Artist in the future. I do not see myself surviving through 4 years of Computer Science, just to get a paper saying that I had Game Development subjects on last year, taught by professors without industry experience.
From what you're saying, the only thing that might work for me is what MagicSugar said:
I might be able to save some money and get a studuent VISA, in like 10years :P
I'm curious since I'm from the UK and I thought Irish students can study in the UK. Can you study in the UK?
I thought if you live in Ireland(well maybe this is just Northern Ireland) you can study in the UK.
Also, are you sure there isn't any good university for 3D in Ireland?
On debt is it the same as the UK when you get a loan where you have to pay back if you start working?
I do not have Irish citizenship, I moved in here 3 years ago from Poland. I can easily study in Ireland without any kind of requirements, because I am 25yo, so qualify as "mature student". Not really sure how it works in UK.
I checked most of the schools that offer a degree in Game Development, but they offer the same thing - computer science and some game development mix(programming, management etc). In most cases people that teach you "Game development", are guys that finished the same school or some old teachers reading from book.
I do not know much about the debt.
From what I understand of the Canadian work visa you just have to show that there's an offer from an Canadian company and you're good to go.. I also think that you can explain that our industry aren't really looking for degrees but years of experience and skill.
1. Company that wishes to hire you, has to apply to government and prove that for last 8 weeks they tried to find someone local, but failed
2. They're either allowed or not allowed to hire a foreigner.
3. In case, they get an approval, you(or company, not sure) have to send your papers.
4. You have to wait from 2 to 8 weeks for an answer from government(they can still fail you)
5. After being approved, you have to work for that company for a year(you can't change workplace) and after that I believe you can reapply for a full time stay in Canada, otherwise - out.
That is in case for a small company, my friend will work on construction or sth, but I believe it is the same for everyone.
Easy peasy with a degree and a job offer.
Improbable without.
Only real difference is you no longer have to renew annually, I think it runs every 4 years now.
It's good to hear they've extended the renewal phase from 3 to 4 years now. -Helps out on those long contract deals.
One issue I've read about is if you already have the TN1 Visa and you wish to take on a new job, with a new company...one would have to go back to the port of entry to renew the visa. For some reason, they're sticky about new jobs under the same Visa.
With regards to Animation. It's a far call from the accepted 'Graphic Design' field.
"For the Applicant, the challenge here is establishing that the position offered fell under one of the available TN occupational categories.[The closest to an Artist in the approved Profession Category is Graphic Designer.]
To prove this argument with the USCBP(U.S Customs Border Protection),We would need to supplement the application with research showing that these duties were consistent with those of the Graphic Designer profession."
For Modelers and Texture Artists, I'd suspect their educational background would support this field.. more than an Animators.
(I'm currently having my situation reviewed by a companies' immigration Attorney. I'll post back with any updates or new info with whether or not it's a suitable route for other animators.)