Moving abroad to persue career

Frankythebeast

Hello , its Hamza here from Pakistan , there's something that was in my mind from some time now and I'm finally using this platform to clear some things out.

My question is I don't have art relevant degree (I have done bachelors in Computer Science) but I started learning 3d from YouTube and Udemy and got a job here as a 3d artist in mobile games company but I want to work abroad (Canada, UK, Germany etc.) working in PC games since there is not any company here that make PC games , and I have heard that to work abroad I need a degree( I have one but not related to art ) , so I wanted to ask if I take some CGMA courses and become good enough will it work out ? will studying at CGMA be considered as a degree and can it help in working abroad if I don't have my bachelors in Art related field ?
Here's my ArtStation profile : https://www.artstation.com/hamzariaz3d 

Zi0

It depends what part of the world you are aiming for, USA has different rules then the EU. Some countries don't care at all, it is something you will need to research. I would say that your current portfolio is too weak to get a job abroad.

Frankythebeast

Thanks for your answer and
yes im aware of it that my portfolio is weak , i am working on it  

sharsein

If you complete a CGMA course you will learn a lot and get a portfolio piece. But you'll still need to do the work to make more portfolio pieces of that same quality or better. Also with covid 19 international travel is more complicated than usual.

At least in the USA, your bachelor's in computer science is more interesting to most companies than art skills. If you like/are good at software engineering but just like art more, you may have better luck getting a visa if you get a software engineering job abroad. The tradeoff is your art will need to be done in free time, so progress will be slower and you'll need to manage burnout.

Frankythebeast

sharsein said:

If you complete a CGMA course you will learn a lot and get a portfolio piece. But you'll still need to do the work to make more portfolio pieces of that same quality or better. Also with covid 19 international travel is more complicated than usual.

At least in the USA, your bachelor's in computer science is more interesting to most companies than art skills. If you like/are good at software engineering but just like art more, you may have better luck getting a visa if you get a software engineering job abroad. The tradeoff is your art will need to be done in free time, so progress will be slower and you'll need to manage burnout.

Great, Thanks 

Taylor Brown

I think one of your key questions has gone unanswered so far: No, a CGMA diploma would not count as a real degree from an accredited university if you're thinking in terms of using it for visa purposes.

Frankythebeast

Taylor Brown said:

I think one of your key questions has gone unanswered so far: No, a CGMA diploma would not count as a real degree from an accredited university if you're thinking in terms of using it for visa purposes.

Thanks for your answer Taylor (I love your work) , btw do game companies require art degree for international employees ? (if someone relocate himself before applying to the studio and visa ain't the problem ) 

Taylor Brown

I suppose every studio will have it's own requirements for employment. I'd be surprised if having an art degree was the difference between one person being hired and another being passed on. From my reading and (limited) experience, it's always going to come down to your portfolio, personality and a bit of luck.

PixelMasher

It will come down to each country and it's work visa requirements, which you need to research extensively.

a lot of courses like CGMA or other 3rd part non accredited schools will not count towards visa requirements, even if the training is probably better than actual universities and art colleges. But the gatekeepers/government have no context for this and are usually very rigid and structured with what the consider relevant degrees/education requirements.

up until a couple years ago I would not have been able to work in the states, as i only have a highschool education. finally after 12+ years of job experience apparently that work experience is the equivalent of a 4 year degree apparently :P 

not a single studio I have worked at has valued a degree, and only 1 asked if I went to school during the entire interview process. 

Once your portfolio is good enough to get studios interested, your barrier to entry is most likely going to be the visa requirements from the local government. It is hard for a lot of companies to hire a junior as they dont meet a lot of the requirements for a skilled worker such as a certain level of salary and work experience. studios can sometimes help with this a bit, but often its the government that isnt willing to bend. some visas require a 70-100k+ salary and that is beyond what  most studios are willing to hire a jr artist at. 

if you relocate before applying, it can help, if your portfolio is good enough to get interest from studios. But again, it depends if you are legally able to work in a country. relocating somewhere on a 1 year tourist visa for example, you wouldn't be able to work at a studio, or anywhere in a country. 

there are more and more opportunities arising for remote work however, for example, at the moment I am working for a US based company while living in canada. 

at the moment I would focus your energy on getting to an industry standard of quality and chances are opportunities will start to present themselves to you over time. 

Larry

From my experience if I recall, job applications that required Bachelor's degree were found in Germany, mostly. But even this was very minimal, other countries do not ask for such.

OP I get what you are talking about , I was also in a country with no 3d industry and I was sending my portfolio abroad to different countries, hoping for results. Never got a single test.Though my portfolio was not the best either. I do not want to say that "I know how this works" but I guess a company will give you an art test easier, if you live close by. But that's only for the tests, and not the actual hiring. It is probably even worse for people (applying for junior position) with no visa.

My logic says that for a business, they don't look very far away for juniors, nor are very willing to spend resources for relocation unless your skill level is too high for a junior/trainee but you have no previous 3d experience.

For me, my life plans were in alignment with relocating and I can say if you go to where the job opportunities are, you will have more chances to be seen. But is it worth it? Probably not, if you don't have a fail safe plan.Talking about fail safe, there is also the issue of how are you going to sustain your self if you come to Europe. Please be very careful on where you want to work, and how can you sustain yourself if you don't find a job in the 3d industry.Research about specific laws that some countries have about Pakistan and research about how each country's people treat Pakistani, because it pains me to say that there's quite some racism around.

So my final thoughts are that if you are going to take such a big step, make sure you are at the same level or even better than other 3d artists that are working already in the industry. Take the time, save some money, ask for information from the embasy and make a very detailed plan on how are you going to transition to a different country, and what you will do if things go wrong. All in all, I would suggest to better find a path with freelancing until you have some experience, and then re-visit your plans for moving. Cheers, take care and express yourself through art

Frankythebeast

Thank you @PixelMasher and @Larry for your kind answers and helping. Really appreciate it