Two questions regarding switching companies in the future
polycounter lvl 10
Hey Guys!
I have two questions and I hope you might be able to answer them, if you can spare a couple of minutes.
So I'm currently working in Europe as a Junior Animator.
I would like at some point in the future (1-2 years) to try to relocate to the US or Canada..
So:
1) How hard is it to get hired by a company in the USA or Canada, in terms of Visa and such? Do they actually prefer to hire americans or canadians, respectively, since they don't have to go through the trouble of arranging working Visas etc.?
2) Where I am working atm, we don't use engines at all (all pre-rendered content). If I apply for an Animator position at a bigger Studio that uses game engines, is it a big minus if i'm not familiar with the whole 3D-Package-to-Engine Pipeline? I mean, if i am applying as an animator, aren't my animation skills more important than a pipeline related "workflow", which i could learn there (stuff like exporting animations, rig requirements etc.)?
I'm sure that the more I know and the more I am familiar with, the better it is for my chances, but still.
Thanks guys!
I have two questions and I hope you might be able to answer them, if you can spare a couple of minutes.
So I'm currently working in Europe as a Junior Animator.
I would like at some point in the future (1-2 years) to try to relocate to the US or Canada..
So:
1) How hard is it to get hired by a company in the USA or Canada, in terms of Visa and such? Do they actually prefer to hire americans or canadians, respectively, since they don't have to go through the trouble of arranging working Visas etc.?
2) Where I am working atm, we don't use engines at all (all pre-rendered content). If I apply for an Animator position at a bigger Studio that uses game engines, is it a big minus if i'm not familiar with the whole 3D-Package-to-Engine Pipeline? I mean, if i am applying as an animator, aren't my animation skills more important than a pipeline related "workflow", which i could learn there (stuff like exporting animations, rig requirements etc.)?
I'm sure that the more I know and the more I am familiar with, the better it is for my chances, but still.
Thanks guys!
Replies
Yes it is easier to get a job at a company if you dont' have to get a visa. It's also easier if you don't have to relocate. But it's not impossible. And the better you are at your job the easier it is
It's not impossible to get a job if you don't know the existing pipeline. Especially if you're not considered to be a tech artist. Good artistic skills are usually more important.
I've had pipelines change quite drastically between games due to different engines and gameplay requirements. So technical skills are more about adapting quickly using core fundamental tech knowledge and not specific pieces of information.
1b) I have no clue about CA but I hear they give you a puppy and stretch limo ride to your own personal villa upon entering the country, from there they gladly kick the teeth in of anyone who holds a job that you want.
2) That's going to be rough... but your animation skills should carry over so long as you can also demonstrate you can work within the confines of an engine. There's a big difference between short run/walk cycles and character driven acting. They don't always translate but if you can gear what you're showing to what the company is doing then you're chances are always better...
Then it depends how good the immigration lawyer is which the company gets for you. Then it may take about 6 months till you know if you can get in or not. This can be a fairly difficult task - search polycount. There've been threads about this.
Canada is easier in terms of getting a visa from what people told me. It's supposedly also friendlier place when it comes to overtime, labor laws, etc.
Although finding a job right now with many people in the US being unemployed might be tough. Your chances will probably be better if you have more experience under your belt + a college degree + kickass art + offer from a kickass company with money (Ubi, Blizz, Bioware, etc)
Even people from US and France, who only need a "We need him" paper from the company to keep them in Canada can run into some issues, if the company has someone else on the line who is a citizen and is less paper-work to deal with, they'll most likely go for them.
As Kwramm said, it is easier by law and customs, but it honestly depends on the company and the people there more then anything. If someone is feeling patriotic and wants to keep a blonde, blue eyed, french speaking hipster citizen in the company rather then some talented foreigner the day you send in your portfolio, there is little that can be done.
2) Depends, are you a quick learner and have you ever limited yourself to work under conditions? Animations should be easily transferable, and many companies have inside training where they maybe spend the weekend or so showing you how stuff is done in new ways so that you can use it. So that shouldn't be an issue.
As many other said, a kick-arse portfolio, showing versatility and a degree of some sorts will go a long way.
Also, don't be afraid to apply everywhere, show eagerness and apply mutiple times, but only if your update your portfolio during that time, many companies will keep your request on stand-by and your portfolio with them upto 6 months or more, but a little reminder between 3-4 month time spans can remind them of you, especially if you update your work during that time.
@Mark Dygert: Thanks a lot, I'll have to check out what you meant, about the laws and all! Maybe it'll help me get a better view on things. And i think i get what you meant about Canada lol.. Thank you, Mark!
@Kwramm: I get it, makes sense, of course. I have heard that about Canada as well.. I will search the forum for the threads you mentioned. Thanks man!
@Ace-Angel: Yea I understand what you mean about the Visa.. Hmm i didn't know about the weekend-training thing, that's awesome! And thanks a lot for your tips man, I will definitely bear them in mind, when I start applying again.
Alright.. Let's sum up what you guys said, to make it clear:
Relocating to the US or Canada is a hard thing to do. It is though not impossible, in case you have a degree, kick-ass portfolio and skills. You also must be experienced and good enough, for them to actually wait for you to get the papers etc. and even think about hiring you in the first place. They will gladly hire someone from their country, since it would eliminate all waiting, paperwork, expenses and whatnot. Their country has plenty of talent by itself, not really needing foreigners (except if their skill are good enough to justify a relocation). Also, it depends on the company and the situation..
On the Pipeline question:
It is hard, it could harm my chances, but it is not impossible. If you're able to adapt quickly it will be less of a problem. If I adjust my animation to the company and demonstrate to them that i can work within the requirements of an engine. Also, if I am able to learn quick and work under special conditions and circumstances, it will help my chances when being in the process of applying.
Guys, thank you very much for your help! I really appreciate it!
Great tips and great help from you as always..
The first major hurdle was getting certified to hire foreign workers, that took 6 weeks and supposedly that was lightening speed. After that we tried to get his visa extended or converted while we worked on getting a permanent solution. That worked for 3mo which the next few virtual lines ate up, during that time he couldn't work for us, we could have taken him on as an intern, but that was murky and no one wanted to go there. We where pretty much paying our lawyer to send us email updates as to which line we where standing in now. "good news blablabla approved the application and it is now cleared to move forward to the next round which is... and the wait time is..."
At this point we had hired a local temp to fill in until we could get the paperwork cleared up. It seemed like his start date kept getting pushed back week after week.
The final one that stopped us was some due diligence requirement that said we had to widen our candidate search to people outside of our state. We could hire foreign if no one else in the US could suit our needs. There where waivers we could apply for if that type of a search was a hardship, but we stopped there because our lawyer said they would more than likely make us start interviewing again because the original opening wasn't open for their required window of time and we would have to open the position back up and leave it open for something like 9mo.
We also couldn't afford to fly anyone in for face to face interviews and no one wanted to hire without talking to the person face to face. We could afford to hire the guy from South Africa because he was already in the neighborhood... But out of state... not going to happen.
So we gave up, last I heard he moved to Cananda got a job after some wrangling and is working in a FX studio. He's working on becoming a Canadian citizen and after that he hopes he would have an easier time finding work in all of North America. I have no clue how that will work but the poor guy has been constantly moving around stuck in legal limbo for so long I think he should just settle down and relax in CA ha ha ha.
Mean while we checked up on our #2 and #3 candidates both which had jobs already... big surprise given that a few local studios had closed down. So we did another round of interviews and picked the best local candidate. We might try hiring foreign again at some point now that we've been through the process once and have a good feel for the regulations, but since there have been so many layoffs and so much talent floating around I don't think we'll have to do that, besides we're not hiring and it doesn't look like anyone is going anywhere.
TLDR: We tried, it wouldn't of been that hard, if we had read up on it and met all the requirements up front and there where a lot of requirements. If you're a big company which we aren't its probably easier.
I wasn't aware that it could turn out to be such trouble for companies (and the applicant/employee as well) to hire foreigners.. This opens my eyes, i daresay. I've heard of stories of people having to wait for a longer time until they managed to get their work visa, but your story is a rather sobering one.
@Ace-Angel: I'm really sorry, but my portfolio website is down at the moment and i'm currently working on getting myself a website and url with my name in it .. It will be soon up again though and i will put it in my Polycount Profile. But, may i contact you via pm as soon as it's up again? I would love some feedback then, if you can spare the time!