Moving abroad to persue career
polycounter lvl 4
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
Here's my ArtStation profile : https://www.artstation.com/hamzariaz3d
Replies
yes im aware of it that my portfolio is weak , i am working on it
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.
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.
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