Re: Which career road to go down?
 

Same as anything creative, I have worked on loads of free stuff had my first broadcast credit before I college, its possiable. I spend lots of time, meeting people, networking ect if you really want to do something like this then this what you have do. I'd write to everyone games company in the UK, its no different wanting to work in films, music ect...

Skillset;

http://www.creativeskillset.org/

Re: Which career road to go down?
 

Like Wilky says, the low-level IT stuff these days is done for next to nothing, if you want to earn good money then you need to climb the tree a bit. No idea about game design BTW. A few years at college eating beans is worth it in the long run, you can get a better job, and when the crap hits the fan you have a better chance of finding a new job because you've got skills to differentiate yourself. College sucks big time with the income side if you're more used to regular work, but look at it this way: say it takes you 5 years of study and work to get a job you really like and pays decently. You can then do that for the next 40 years of your working life, or you can spend the next 45 years installing CDs for people. It's a lot of CDs....

Re: Which career road to go down?
 

Don't fall into the Uni trap.

I didn't, I self taught and now have a pretty good Sysadmin Job, which I arrived at via doing Web Development, Tier-1 ISP Networking, Software Development, Mainframe Support, Desktop Support - the list goes on a bit, my Career has involved much Careering :).

Stick where you are - its a job, but more important its experience.

I got into programming from Networking (3rd Line Team for Cable and Wirelesses Pan-European network) by teaching myself when I had spare moments. I learned PHP (it was the new cool thing), Linux and MySQL (Or LAMP as its known). I also learned how to configure and run my own Mail Server.

So my advice.

Stay where you are, but learn as much as you can, get as much training as you can, start to learn to write code then games in the time you normally play them.

Set a goal to design and write a game for yourself, something that you can then send as a completed work to game companies as an example of your work, move into the industry from a position of Strength, not as "Just another kid with a degree"

The Government has done the Univeristy system a HUGE dis-service by pushing everyone through it, which was mainly an exercise in getting youth unemployment figures down) by devaluing Degrees.

As it is, most degree courses have to waste time getting people op to speed on subjects that, a few years ago, the lack of that knowledge would have stopped people getting on the course in the first place.

So my advice, if you want it bad enough, you can get it all yourself, experience and proven ability will get you as far as a degree will.

Re: Which career road to go down?
 

Thanks SoulKiss :)

You're actually my advice guru from now on, I've decided ;)

Re: Which career road to go down?
 

+1 - Agree totally.

+1 this too. We were chatting about this at the AR (not with you I don't think though SK). Many examples in our group of friends of not going to uni and doing just as well. As someone who is now self employed, the bit of paper my degree is printed on is worthless to me now. You don't need one to succeed.

Re: Which career road to go down?
 

This cannot end well...

Re: Which career road to go down?
 

LOL!!!

Re: Which career road to go down?
 

Hey, its not my fault you decided to listen to the voices in your head instead of me :)

Re: Which career road to go down?
 

Jealousy kicking in? ;)

Re: Which career road to go down?
 

I agree with Soulkiss. University is a complete waste of time unless you either stay at uni to do something past your BA/BSc OR you're doing a very practical subject.

Practical experience is far more useful.

I wish I'd known this before I'd wasted three years of my life on my completely worthless Journalism BA (which was basically three years of a drunken shagfest but that doesn't help you get a job). That's why I'm in the situation I'm now in, ten years later, having to up sticks and retrain - while I'll be back in college, I'll be learning an actual skill (a language) and getting certificate, not a degree.

I only have vague skills, I don't have a specific 'trade' so I likewise have to go for vague positions, usually on the bottom rung.

Game design? I wouldn't. Turning a hobby into a job can destroy your love of it because it becomes essential to putting food on the table. That's even before you consider how many studios get railroaded into making bad games by their publishers and then are shut down once the project's finished.

Better to make games for fun in your spare time. The indie scene is absolutely huge. Just don't ask me to give you money on Kickstarter.

EDIT: Oh, and you think installing Windows is bad? Here's a little story for you: I did a work experience thing in my last year of high school. I asked for an IT placement. They didn't really know what to do with me so they sent me to a used computer store. My 'job' was to scrape the labels and crud off the towers, wipe the finger smeg out of the mice and keyboards, and generally scrub them clean with disinfectant. It was only after repeated complaints that they got me moved up to installing operating systems (on top of continuing to scrub stuff). I was their slave labour, and after I was accused of stealing a laptop that I'd been given permission to borrow for my presentation on what I did all day (in retrospect I wish I'd brought my scraper and cleaning fluid bottle and humilated the work experience department) I was moved to... a school! Where I sat and installed operating systems all day!