Working OverSeas. Anyone Have Experience?
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Ok, so with graduation on the way, its time to start thinking about jobs.
One thing i love about what i chose to do (animation) is that i can travel with it if i should so choose. And it does sound kind of pleasing since I am not married or kids or anything. so, that being said
Does anyone have any experience working overseas? Im from canada, but have thought about going to england, germany (i can get a duel citizenship), or australia.
I know i need a work visa. should i try and get one before i apply, or wait and see if a company will sponser me?
any tips would be greatly appreciated
One thing i love about what i chose to do (animation) is that i can travel with it if i should so choose. And it does sound kind of pleasing since I am not married or kids or anything. so, that being said
Does anyone have any experience working overseas? Im from canada, but have thought about going to england, germany (i can get a duel citizenship), or australia.
I know i need a work visa. should i try and get one before i apply, or wait and see if a company will sponser me?
any tips would be greatly appreciated
Replies
Also if you have British or German(i assume German as well I can only speak for UK) citizenship you should be able to work anywhere in the European union. I got both US and UK citizenship which means the best of both worlds. I haven't had the opportunity to try out that EU part just yet, so take it with a grain of salt.
And since they speak english, hey hey. Easier for you to fit right in. I know a few guys had issues with the language in Norway when they were there. It's not exactly a language you pick up easily.
You could try Japan. More companies are hiring 'westerners' so you could try looking for work there, if it takes your fancy.
One company contacted me and said they like my work, but I need to be able to communicate more in Japanese. When that happens, please contact them. I can't really make an effort to apply for any jobs here till I get to "JLPT 2" or business level. The JLPT is just a thing to put on your resume, not needed if you speak it well. My Japanese skills are all over the place, I know advanced things, I know beginner things because of what I encounter daily.
As for tests, I know people who are JLPT2 and can only read 20% of what's in a newspaper. Also the JLPT tests are going from 4 levels to 5 levels and it's gonna be harder. They are making a lot of things "harder" for us gaikokujin (the NEW and nice way of saying foreigner) from getting a license to extending visas. BUT I just saw that the driving test written is now offered in English as of this month... so I guess not everything.
Sama.Van has been here one year longer than me, and Razkun and Hawken as well. Although Sama.Van and I came in on the "Golden Ticket", not sure how Razkun and Hawken did.
Basically be open minded, learn to make compromises, accept that you cannot always live the way you lived at home, be ready to accept to see the world in the way your host country sees it, and you should like change, be adventurous.
Being a person who doesn't need a lot of their friends to be around to be happy does help! You will definitely feel a bit lonely before you make new friends with whom you can hang out.
Office wise most places had fairly similar cultures. In private life outside office I usually noticed much bigger differences than at work. Maybe that's because CG usually has a very young, creative and open minded work force to begin with.
So far I never had to learn the countries language - it was always optional - because I applied to places with English as company language. I'd dare to say that in Europe any studio beyond a certain size has English as company language bcause there will be many different nationalities working there.
Exceptions are places which are not attractive anyway to foreigners (i.e. cheap labour outsourcing studios somewhere deep within the former eastern block countries).
Usually, if you're good, companies sponsor you. Keep in mind, unlike the US, in many EU countries a company does not need to hire a lawyer and pay them. So there's little extra costs for them other than a little bit more time and paperwork.
The major cost all of them will factor is relocation! So even if they have no trouble getting you a visa, they may still think about having to pay for this! (this even applies to EU companies and EU candidates from different EU countries...even applies to the US I guess).
If you are able to have good normal conversation level in japanese , then you can mostly try out all of the company , even the one who don't have english page...better to have japanese help at least for mail reading (find your girl :poly124:)
but once you get interview after , this is where things pick up, they like to be 3 all time the good , the vicious and the asshole (who will try to F*** you at every little opportunity asking you silly question hehe).
anyway going overseas (i went abroad a lot when i was more young just to see some other people and culture ) you need to be prepared at differnent culture and live with that , specially if you start into asia things or orient, which can be fun and you can enjoy that , or you can have hard time with it.
http://kotaku.com/5482517/the-underclass-of-the-japanese-gaming-industry
If you translate some of the pages when you job search here, some of the companies say "40+ hours a week, no overtime pay." But on average it's 220,000 per month for most of these smaller companies.
You mean the UK right? Because there are some heavyweight studios up here in Scotland too, including Rockstar North. It's a common (and really annoying) habit of Americans and Canadians to refer to the whole country as "England".
After moving to the UK nearly two years ago, I was deeply impressed with how big is the development community here. Despite all those cries about the lack of government support for games companies, I've been hearing more and more about new studios opening all over the UK.
There are plenty of polycounters based in the UK who have industry experience, so they'll probably tell you more than me. Nevertheless, it's a nice place to live, as long as you don't mind the awful weather and ridiculously expensive cigarettes.
A good Aussie friend of mine who I worked with for the last 3 years just got hired at Grasshopper Manufacture He started in January this year, he barely spoke a word of japanese. Just sayin there is still hope for folks that would like to work in japan if you have the 'goods'.
Now, being a soon to be graduate... will companies actually sponser me if i tried for the UK? I looked into the UK (I do usually say the UK, I said england cause I was thinking of London specifically at the time), and there are a bunch of studios there I would love to work for. Do any of you think companies would sponser a junior? or would i have to just try and skip the junior status and try for a full out animator?
Ive worked in the industry for over 6 years abroad so hopefully i can provide some useful advice.It seems that as a North American it can be easier to land a job in Europe in terms of work visa than it would be for a European trying to go to the U.S or Canada. Visa requirements vary from country to country.
In terms of relocation most companies offer a relocation bonus which can be used to move your personal belongings. But the less shit you have the better. You can find furnished apartments in the major cities so bringing furniture is expensive and a hassle. Most well funded companies will offer housing as part of your contract. Its enough to save the hassle of finding a place to live when you make the big move. 2-3 months of free housing has been my experience. In this time save 1/3 of your salary for the time you have company housing to cover a deposit.
-Flights on your big move can go either way,one company paid for mine up front another reimbursed me for it,so money saved for a flight is a good idea. By return trips even if you dont use the return trip,its cheaper and more flexable then one ways.
- Know the countries visa laws,most companies are legit and will hire you in an honost way but my first company did not. I was able to get out before i was caught working illegally and luckily it saved me many problems.
-Apply everywhere,even if you dont think you are qualified,unlike North America,Europe does not have the sheer amount of schools to pump out qualified game development canidates so the competition might not be as stiff.
England- My experience in applying for jobs in england could be different than yours based on my nationality, American. This could vary based on the fact your Canadian.
England for me was a horrible,shitty experience looking for work after i lost my job in may. Not having a 4 year degree killed me with the UK's point based system. I had over 5 interviews(2 onsite) which seemingly went well and when the issue of a work visa came up all of my experience did not matter one bit. But htey have hte most studios.
Holland - Some companies there. Guerillia in Amsterdam is well funded and a good place to work from what i hear. Being Canadian could be good too, your country did liberate theirs. Liberation day in Holland is a Drink for free day if you are Canadian. Sad part the country is not the tollerant place its made out to be. never been asked "when are you leaving" so often when speaking to people even when its well established im not a tourist.
Germany- They have their big studios and in terms of ease of getting a visa it was a breeze. Was working a month after i was hired. Downside,there are lots of Germans who cant speak one bit of english. I was surprised really how few do. Wages are lwoer then alot of European countries with game dev studios but cost of living make up for it. Berlin is the cheapest of the major cities in Europe
Scandanavia- One of the loveliest places to live and visit. Some of the most olerant people on the planet,clean and safe cities. Well run social systems. And the most beautiful and surprisngly down to earth women on earth. Jeg elsker Dansk,Norsk og svensk kvinder! Sadly aside from Sweden and IO interactive in Denmark there are not alot of big studios. Really expensive countries to live in but cost of living compensates for it and Scandanavian people are well educated and youll rarely find noone who speaks english and sometimes find people who speak english better than Americans.
France- My impression is that French is a must
Seems like the rest of Europe has their companies but not really big ones who could hire you and rellocate you there.
Good luck.
Sweden's game industry took a bit over the last couple years, not many opportunities left here either... It seems the UK is the best bet if you're looking in Europe.