Jobs before getting into "the biz"?

RageUnleashed

Just graduated college, need money to move into an apartment with a roommate, but also could use a bit more time getting my portifolio ready for a game biz job methinks...how many of you had a retail or some such job before getting into the game industry (or aren't in the industry yet, and working somewhere?)

I'm thinking I'll try Fedex or Trader Joe's or something...but if you know of a good place I could use the advice.

kleinluka

I think this thread answers the question :P
http://boards.polycount.net/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=39853&an=0&page=2#39853

Personally, I was a paper boy for some time and worked on mods and such, and eventually one of them happened to go retail and voila, i had my first published title.

aesir

become a waiter. Good tips.

Mojo2k

anywhere that gives you money, don't worry if it sucks or not, in fact early on i would sugest working the most misserable job you can find.. cause now anytime i think the crunch or stress of game art is getting to me.. i can rember my days back at the sawmill neck deep in a vat of oatmeal thick sawdust watter using a chainsaw to cut loose a log jam (true story) and things now just seem all that much better

adam

For fuck sakes don't get a job at FedEx Kinko's.

skankerzero

I was a restaurant manager / cook for 3 years before getting in.

Paul Jaquays

I worked for a quick printer doing paste-up and layout. This was before word or page processing changed the printing biz ... so I pasted type on layout sheets using rubber cement and hot wax. I did that for about 3 months. My next job was writing and illustrating D&D adventures for Judges Guild.

Edit: The comparable position today would probably be working at Kinkos.

Scott Ruggels

Before getting into the games Inddustry, I was a layout, and pasteup trainee for a Hip Hop magazine. The magazine imploded. So then I had a day job as a Security guard, and evenings and weekends did Paper RPG illustrations, and inked Comic books.

Scott

moose

Home Depot, great place to work. even part time you get insurance, benefits, comepetitive pay (quite good pay actually, but no discounts on store goods), and vacation time.

an pretty fun place to work, i learned a TON while working there. Im pretty confident with installing ceramic flooring, painting walls/buying paint, kinda ok with installing drywall, and building things.

I worked in Paint, so i got to deal with 'art' type things all day, with helping people design rooms, pick color schemes, mix colors, learn about the chemical makeup of paints, and why some paints are more transparent/thinner than others, tools and things needed to paint, and tons of other stuff. Was a great "hands on" type of job where they really push learning, and your ultimate knowledge of the stuff, its almost 'professional' training in all areas since the people that work there sometimes do the same type of stuff on the side.

flaagan

At a small semiconductor cleaning equipment company i was webmaster, network admin, an engineer, an assembler, manual creator, parts getter, shipping / receiving, accountant, database entry / management, on-site machine repairman, delivery / pickup, and marketing.. though not all at once (a few jobs overlapped).

After that my last job was QA @ EA.. and now i've got to finish the last tidbits of college so i can get my B.A. and then find a job in the industry.

shotgun

work in a telekenesis lab..
you could take over the world! :P

just work. bust ur ass and get better, make more portfolio pieces that replaces existing pieces, post them, be active in mod projects and such like kleinluka said.. you'll be noticed, dont worry.

AstroZombie

I worked for Early Head Start. The pay wasn't bad and it was a rewarding feeling knowing that you were doing something to help "at risk" children and families.

Ruz

I had loads of jobs before getting to the games industry:

Metropolitan Police Cadets( jeez I hated that)
junior acccountant in a local authority( I was a rubbish accountant)
Royal Military Police( got my nose broken)
warehouse worker
binman in Camden Town( 2 weeks)
student for 7 years.
Tk maxx for 1 year( ahhghh)

ah that was fun

Malekyth

I worked at a CBS affiliate where I wrestled with big clunky-ass VCR-like machines that should have been recycled into aluminum cans as long ago as the late '70s, to bring hits like Diagnosis: Murder, the Jenny Jones Show, Hardcopy, and KGWC Evening News to Casper, WY's entirely apathetic NBC-watching audience. After that I worked at Mini-Mart, where I specialized in giving drunks from down the street change from a $5 for their $50 bill, pocketing the rest and buying video games. Then I worked at J.C. Penney, where I quit by hurling my nametag and a middle finger at my mindless toadie of a manager. Then I got a real job!

BoBo_the_seal

Before getting a job as a Graphics Teacher I was a “Customer Service Specialist” on Rollerblades at Wal-Mart. I would work 40 hr's a week rollerblading through Wal-Mart doing price checks and helping customers find things.

- BoBo

HarlequiN

/me scratches head.

Man, I've done a lot of crap jobs, but I guess you just want to hear the one's I did between University and my first industry job eh?

- Local computer store selling computers. I got fired, I sucked.
- Mens clothing department stockist as a fancy clothing store. I got laid off, I sucked.
- Barman in a nightclub. I left eventually, but I had a lot of fun and I was suprisingly good.
- CAD operator, Photoshop Teacher, Access programmer, Designer, assistant manager. That was one job. I did it while I was working the other job as a bartender, I had to leave, it was killing me.
- Website designer. They looked nice but they weren't particularly clever or good. So I sucked.
- AV technician. I sucked.
- Part Time Photoshop lecturer. I kicked ass

So yeah, you can do anything you like I've done shittier jobs than those of course, but those were before university. Personally I'd recommend bar tending to anyone. It's a good laugh, not *particularly hard, you meet lots of women, you meet the occassional *nice woman , and while the money is crap the tips are pretty good (even in the UK). Depending on where you work you might get a lot of free amature sex shows too, which to be honest I could have done without - hah!

Pseudo

I have had a handful of jobs since graduating college. Currently I am doing QA at Activision. I got the job thinking I would make all sorts of industry contacts, and get my foot in the door. I was wrong

adam

In this order, starting when I was 15 years old:

*Lived in Keswick*
McDonalds - Front Counter and Kitchen
Zehrs - Hot Deli
Liquidation World - Warehouse
Canadian Tire - Warehouse, then Sport Dept.
Tim Hortons - cashier

*Moved to Toronto*
Lawyer's Assistant - He worked for the Toronto Police Association so I dealt with a lot of cops, fun job.
Buffalo Jeans - "Head Cashier"
Ad Efx - Sold spa packages to 'ladies' in downtown Toronto. Was making about $260 cash a day, five days a week. Was 19 at the time so that was primo de niro.

*Moved to London*
Kinko's - Fuck

r13

i was an architect

doc rob

Summer Jobs while in school:
Editorial Assistant at the Falls Church News-Press
Cashier at the Shopette (convenience store/video store) on an Army base in Stuttgart, Germany
Then one summer a triple: 2 interships during the day, 3 days a week at varsitybooks.com, 2 at Education Week, then back to the News-Press at nights and on weekends.
Pizza Delivery for Chanellos
3D artist Internship at the Darden Graduate Buisness School at the University of Virginia.

Full time jobs:
Creative Developer (web designer/coder) at Viant
Artist at Dynamic Animation Systems - semi-Game Industry