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To move or not to move
LibrarianThorne
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm faced with what I believe is the most important decision in my life.
I graduated college about three weeks ago, with a degree centered around game design and development. I've been sending out applications like mad, but I've not even heard back from the companies I've applied to. This was a not unexpected outcome. On the upside, I have no loans or other debt to repay. In fact, I've got somewhere around $20,000 in income without working right now.
After reading several helpful job hunting sites (specifically those linked from the IGDA forums), I've come to the conclusion that I need to move. Right now, I live in southwest Ohio where there is, approximately, nothing going on that has a future. Moreover, there's no jobs in the area or state where I feel I can be happy for a long period of time. However, all of my family and friends live in the state. All of my support is here.
I've narrowed down the cities I'd like to live in to Austin, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina. Both cities have a thriving game development community and a culture which interests me a great deal. This on top of the fact that the rent I'm looking at is more than reasonable. I also want to live in a city because, as of now, I do not have a driver's license. Due to a bad accident (or two...) when I was a child, I've got this crippling fear of oncoming traffic. When I'm a passenger, I'm fine, but when I'm behind the wheel of a car I find myself freezing up when faced with it.
Now, this isn't to say I couldn't find work locally. There are fast food places, Gamestop, grocery stores, and other low-paying jobs. However, I wouldn't be happy with any of those jobs. I'd still be around friends and family, but that's not enough for me. I need to work at a job that has a future and can give me a sense of fulfillment. At the same time, I have no idea if I could acclimate well to such a move. I lived in Nagoya, Japan for three months on a study abroad trip and made some great friends there, but I don't know if I could replicate such a feat.
So, H/A, please help me out. Should I take the plunge or make the safe bet? Should I move, and if so, where to?
I graduated college about three weeks ago, with a degree centered around game design and development. I've been sending out applications like mad, but I've not even heard back from the companies I've applied to. This was a not unexpected outcome. On the upside, I have no loans or other debt to repay. In fact, I've got somewhere around $20,000 in income without working right now.
After reading several helpful job hunting sites (specifically those linked from the IGDA forums), I've come to the conclusion that I need to move. Right now, I live in southwest Ohio where there is, approximately, nothing going on that has a future. Moreover, there's no jobs in the area or state where I feel I can be happy for a long period of time. However, all of my family and friends live in the state. All of my support is here.
I've narrowed down the cities I'd like to live in to Austin, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina. Both cities have a thriving game development community and a culture which interests me a great deal. This on top of the fact that the rent I'm looking at is more than reasonable. I also want to live in a city because, as of now, I do not have a driver's license. Due to a bad accident (or two...) when I was a child, I've got this crippling fear of oncoming traffic. When I'm a passenger, I'm fine, but when I'm behind the wheel of a car I find myself freezing up when faced with it.
Now, this isn't to say I couldn't find work locally. There are fast food places, Gamestop, grocery stores, and other low-paying jobs. However, I wouldn't be happy with any of those jobs. I'd still be around friends and family, but that's not enough for me. I need to work at a job that has a future and can give me a sense of fulfillment. At the same time, I have no idea if I could acclimate well to such a move. I lived in Nagoya, Japan for three months on a study abroad trip and made some great friends there, but I don't know if I could replicate such a feat.
So, H/A, please help me out. Should I take the plunge or make the safe bet? Should I move, and if so, where to?
LibrarianThorne on
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If you want a career in game dev, Ohio isn't a "safe bet", it's a conscious decision to never follow that career. That's what we're talking about here.
With my current skillset, QA Testing is one thing that I can do well and advance in (as well as hone other skills I learned in college but have not developed sufficiently, like scripting). The thing about QA testing is that, if you're not local, you probably won't be called in. Several devs have referred to testers as "a dime a dozen" and they'll take the guy who can work tomorrow over the guy who can work next Tuesday every single time.
As to what's in Raleigh, there's several "serious games" developers as well as Epic Games, Red Storm, and Insomniac games is opening up a new studio there in January. While Austin is doubtless more established as the hub, Raleigh is up and coming and a professor told me that's the place to move to as far as entry level work goes.
Since you don't drive (ain't nothing wrong with that! I don't either), I should think that you'll want to place the city's public transit high on your list of considerations. Not to mention that you'll need the place you live in to have easy access to it. Living without a car is more difficult in some cities than others. But it can be done.
I too am in an industry where work is best obtained by being the guy that can come in tomorrow. So I moved across the country with a tiny pool of savings and my cat. I had no work lined up and I knew almost no one. It was the scariest thing I've ever done. But I would have regretted it forever if I hadn't.
I made the connections, I started getting work. That work snowballed into other work. Now my life is awesome. It's rough at first, but totally worth it.
Just after college is a great time to move. Make new friends, set up your life. Your family will deal. Stick around now and it can get harder to leave later. You are already at this great transition period. Make it worth everything you can squeeze out of it.
Go where the work is. You'll find it. And yes, you can replicate your previous feat and make new friends. Worry about acclimation once you are there and are forced do something about it. Do not let fear hold you back.
Move move move move move.
If you move, you will go back and visit in a few months, and wonder how the fuck you lived there for so long without completely losing it.
I completely disagree. He can pound the pavements, be available for temp jobs or interviews at the drop of a hat, and look into positions in firms that do contract work for game devs. It's between hard and nigh-on impossible to do that from distance. Trying to do that from Ohio will be crippling for any chance he has.
OP: I can see what your professor is getting at, but I think Austin is the better place right now. The MMO space continues to grow there at a rapid rate, and jobs in MMO development come at all stages of the process. The establishment of GDC Austin and it's MMO focus is really solidifying it as a strong place to be. I can only envisage that it will have way more temp jobs in QA and stuff available for you to get a foot in the door.
That said, if I was you, I'd grab yourself a visa and head to Vancouver.
Get the hell out of Ohio man, before you end up working retail the rest of your life.
Do some research in QA jobs though, they don't lead to as much advancement as you'd hope, but it can be done.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
I've done a hell of a lot of research (including blowing 3K to hit GDC08) and I know barring advancing to QA Lead/other management that QA's a dead end as far as advancement goes. However, I need the experience. I need to familiarize myself with the industry on that level and get the experience to put on the resume. QA also gives me a more solid work schedule than Design or Art so I'll have time to learn the skills I need (namely scripting).
Thanks for all the advice, guys. It's looking like Austin's the best bet. Now to hunt down apartments...