Will me being 26 yrs old pose an issue when job hunting?
polycounter lvl 5
Hey,
So I just turned 26 a few days ago and I'm planning to job hunt pretty soon (probably in a month or two) once I finish up my demo reel. I did a round of job hunting approximately a year and got nothing in terms of game jobs.
I did get an unrelated 3D job that I'm hoping will boost my CV.
Now I know ageism is a thing and me being 26, only 4 yrs away from the big 3-0 without a game job is kind of surprising. I thought I'd have an industry job by now but after leaving uni in 2013, I had no skills. So I took online workshops to better myself and the time has just flew by.
Now, I feel more ready and have been told that I definitely have the potential to land an entry level/junior role.
I just kind of feel like it's getting late to land my first gig.
Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts?
So I just turned 26 a few days ago and I'm planning to job hunt pretty soon (probably in a month or two) once I finish up my demo reel. I did a round of job hunting approximately a year and got nothing in terms of game jobs.
I did get an unrelated 3D job that I'm hoping will boost my CV.
Now I know ageism is a thing and me being 26, only 4 yrs away from the big 3-0 without a game job is kind of surprising. I thought I'd have an industry job by now but after leaving uni in 2013, I had no skills. So I took online workshops to better myself and the time has just flew by.
Now, I feel more ready and have been told that I definitely have the potential to land an entry level/junior role.
I just kind of feel like it's getting late to land my first gig.
Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts?
Replies
You're going to keep getting older. Eventually you'll get grey hair!
Just kidding man, don't worry about it. I know people in the game industry that are 27, even 28!
And yes, I am aware of a strong enough portfolio being more important than anything else, still in other industries this is no small side issue and I've been asked this by people around me.
I'm sure there are other developers who started at a different industry, and then switch to games. Maybe comparing to someone who's been in comics, then in games.
In this case age may be a filter in addition to several other filters all applied discreetly in a grey area sort of way.
I think that regardless of the age aspect, important to keep bettering your self and eventually going freelance. A job is good for a time, better to be your own boss down the line.
I'm sure you will be fine, plenty of people change careers and such and get into different things when they are older. 26 is nothing! Slightly different industry, but in my first job as a software developer I worked with someone who used to be a nurse but she trained in Java later on and became a junior developer in her 50s... in a team of mostly younger people (20s - 30s).
I've hired people near my age into Junior positions. If they show the portfolio, and they still have the flexibility and the passion, boom, hired.
Still, I did get burned recently hiring an older worker into an entry position. This person seemed to have a chip on their shoulder, turned out they didn't actually devote themselves 100% into learning the ropes. Couldn't keep up with the pack.
So, I get that people have an ageism bias. But for every sour apple, there are other old workers who totally kick ass. It really comes down to personality traits... Does this person have the spirit to grow and improve, or do they not?
Hard to judge, even with young workers. Interviewers have to be on their toes.
Takeaway: show a great portfolio, and show the passion.
Whether traditional, digital, hybrid or whatever...an individual's age in most creative fields especially visual arts isn't called into question. From my experience it's the level of attained proficiency that counts.