<p>I know it's a cliche that a CS major would want to make video games, which worries me because this is a major interest to me. You get a final product that would probably feel much more rewarding than other CS jobs. My question is, how hard would it be for me to get a job at a large video game firm like EA/Bethesda/etc.? (I am going to a T15 CS undergrad school, possibly T5) Thanks guys.</p>
<p>You can always apply and find out, but also apply to non-game company software jobs.</p>
<p>For games, you’ll likely want to take the usual useful CS courses (algorithms/complexity, operating systems, networks, software engineering, databases, security) and add electives in graphics, artificial intelligence, user interfaces, art, and (if physics is not required) physics (mechanics).</p>
<p>Thanks for the course advice. I will be applying to them no matter what, but I was wondering more about the competition. Is it comparable to Microsoft/Google etc.? Or a bit less competitive?</p>
<p>Less competitive, lower salary, longer hours, worse work-life balance, and it’s probably not as much fun as you’re imagining.</p>
<p>"Programmers and Engineers first entering the business or with less than three years experience, you can start off by making, on the average, $50,000 a year. If you have between three and six years experience you can plan to earn $66K a year and if you have six years and up on the job you can make over $88K a year. "</p>
<p>SOURCE: [Video</a> Game Salary](<a href=“http://www.animationarena.com/video-game-salary.html]Video”>Video Game Salary)</p>
<p>Basically everything Kamel said except for “long hours” was wrong.</p>
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<p>Really? Let’s take it one piece at a time.</p>
<p>Less competitive - A job at Google or a similar company is more competitive than at a video game company, period. I didn’t say it isn’t competitive, I said it’s LESS competitive. </p>
<p>Lower salary - Is $50k not less than what starting Google/Microsoft SEs make? Do you not realize that they make TWICE that? $50k is even less than the national average.</p>
<p>Work-life balance - I’d say longer hours qualify as worse work-life balance.</p>
<p>Not as fun as he’s imagining - I suspect his passion is playing video games, not coding some minor aspect of them all day.</p>
<p>Looks to me like you proved me right, not wrong.</p>
<p>It seems like Video Game companies like to see development experience before they hire you (even if it’s entry-level). I would suggest trying to create games on your own and make a portfolio. Try to get an internship at the game company you like. If you’re determined to get into the game industry, you will get in no problem.</p>
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<p>That does not seem to be particularly high compared to typical pay rates that CS majors find at graduation in the <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html</a> .</p>
<p>“Not as fun as he’s imagining - I suspect his passion is playing video games, not coding some minor aspect of them all day.”</p>
<p>Wrong actually, I play an average amount of video games compared to most kids, not really a passion. Please don’t assume that I haven’t researched this and just like video games. I code game apps for Apple in my free time and I find it much more fun and rewarding than any other kind of work that I do.</p>
<p>Regarding the pay, you can find all kinds of different numbers for average salaries. <a href=“Video game programmer - Wikipedia”>Video game programmer - Wikipedia; - this says that they are paid much higher than indicated in the other link. This is true for all kinds of CS jobs.</p>
<p>Also, the money isn’t a big deal to me as long as I’m making a decent salary. It seems to me like a video game company would have a good team feeling to it as everybody works towards a very tangible goal, which is pretty important to me. I was mainly wondering about my job outlook for the video game industry.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input/info everyone.</p>
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I briefly checked this link. Do they say how the data were collected, or when? If not, the data are completely meaningless, worth less than nothing.</p>
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<p>The source cited by Wikipedia ([Game</a> Developer - April 2010](<a href=“http://gamedeveloper.texterity.com/gamedeveloper/201004?pg=1#pg9]Game”>http://gamedeveloper.texterity.com/gamedeveloper/201004?pg=1#pg9)) admits that the survey is voluntary; this is sort of an issue for a survey like this, for obvious reasons. As such, the statistics presented as actual fact are probably skewed high, so take these figures with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the BLS OOH may not go into enough detail to answer questions about the video gaming industry specifically. That’s a shame, since they’re usually a fantastic source for credible information. My advice to you would be to do CS with a specialization in game programming, but make sure you get all the other fundamentals, such as:</p>
<p>Algorithms & data structures
Programming languages
Architecture
Networks
Operating Systems
Languages & automata (theory)
Discrete math & probability/statistics
Calculus & linear algebra
etc.</p>
<p>If it’s an ABET-accredited BSCS and you took all the core CS courses, you should have no problems applying for most software-related jobs, regardless of your specialization. That way, if you can’t find a job that meets your salary requirements in the gaming industry (which might be lower than your requirements otherwise, to compensate for your special desire to work in that field), you can fall back on a more traditional applications or systems software engineering role.</p>
<p>Gaming is notoriously difficult to get into. Maybe not as hard as Microsoft or Google, but still very competitive, because everyone wants to work in gaming! To make yourself really stand out, you should make a mod for a popular game or write your own game on the side in addition to your coursework. That will show that you know how to work with an existing code base, understand the fundamentals of game programming, and know how to execute. </p>
<p>Recently, quite a few people in the gaming industry have been hired directly from their mod/game development experience alone (even without a degree). But, I would guess that the majority of developers do come from traditional BSCS programs.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses guys.</p>
<p>Aegrisomnia- That was kind of my point in posting that link as I know that there is a lot of fluctuation in salary surveys. Thanks a bunch for the course info. Hopefully there will be some graphics I am not in any way limiting myself to game programming, it would just be a preference of mine. </p>
<p>Pseudoghost- That’s really helpful, thanks. I’ll start looking into that for sure, I already have a few open source project games in mind to develop mods for. I figure that a good mod on top of a T15 (at least) UG/Grad degree would put me in the running for some of the top game companies.</p>
<p>Thanks again guys.</p>