The Bachelor and the Artist

Steve Schulze

Let's talk bachelor degrees.

Ever since I started this 3d gig I've heard that all you need are skills and some pretty pictures demonstrating such, but I've begun to wonder whether this is the case now. Two things have brought on this line of thinking. The first is working overseas. I've heard on a number of occasions that it's easier to get a working visa if you've got a bachelor degree. how much easier, I don't know. The second came from perusing a UK games job list. Everyone seems to want people with a degree now.

Now getting to my point. I've got 2 years of a 3 year multimedia design course under my belt. Those two years were the biggest waste of time and money I've ever undertaken. I've got a Diploma of Video Games Development from the Academy of Interactive Entertainment - an institute that's well respected in Australia that's spawned about a third of the people working in the local industry. I have over 4 years development experience and 8 shipped titles.

My question - How important is that bachelor degree now?

aesir

well, for overseas work, I think you either need a degree or a like 5 years (or some such number which isn't small but isn't huge either, something like 3-7 i think) of experience to get a work visa in america without trouble. I think there's other ways, but they're harder. I dunno... just regurgitating what little i remember.

If you have no experience, a degree will certainly help you get a job. If you have experience, it probably doesn't matter much.

MagicSugar

Or...

You can sign up to fight for America and get your citizenship in as little as 6 months. And presuming you survive by dodging mortar rounds for a couple of years in Afghanistan, applying at Blizzard/id/valve should be a piece of cake when you get back "home". :thumbup:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/us/15immig.html?scp=1&sq=immigrant%20military&st=cse

achmedthesnake

jackablade - did you get a job straight out of aie? or personal work in your own personal time?

Steve Schulze

Took me a little while after AIE to get my portfolio up to scratch, but that's in no small part because I didn't do enough work outside school back then. Don't waste all your time shooting off fireworks and watching pornography and you should be employable straight out of the Academy, though if things haven't changed in the industry by then, you might have to wait a while for a job to actually appear.

CrazyMatt

As far as I know the UK requires "2 Years of professional paid experience". Which I think is the most bogus of laws or requirements which makes me feel in the end my degree was a HUGE waste of time worth getting. As some of my favorite game companies are based in the UK.

But generally as far as I know, you just need paid experience in the professional environment to go anywhere and work anywhere that accepts you AFAIK.

As for degrees, I don't think they cut you any slack today to get any sort of job you desire. I believe personally that degrees is just a cover up image to let the games industry try elaborate itself as being intelligent and superior to withold it's massive amounts of money that it recieves for those who invest in each company/publisher to say "We know what we are doing".