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The best approach to be competitive, is to find a popular, platform, stick to it, and learn it really well. You won't be coding any fancy algorithms so you're

The best approach to be competitive, is to find a popular, platform, stick to it, and learn it really well. You won't be coding any fancy algorithms so you're worrying about the wrong thing. You just need to learn the best practices and stick to them. And then you learn most of the skills you will need through experience. Also note that without a degree your employment possibilities are more limited. You will probably have the most luck in web or mobile app development.

drakonka 11y ago
> Also note that without a degree your employment possibilities are more limited. You will probably have the most luck in web or mobile app development. I don't think this is really the case anymore. I work at a largeish game dev company and know quite a few people (coworkers and just other developers working for other companies) who have no degree and no trouble finding jobs. Admittedly this is purely from personal observation specifically in game dev, but it doesn't seem like my degree-less friends get any fewer recruitment offers or advancement opportunities than friends who went to college.
- origamize 11y ago
  Your sample is subject to some pretty heavy selection bias though. How would someone who does not have a degree and is having trouble finding a position know you through working at a game dev company?
  - drakonka 11y ago
    By nature of the fact that I don't only associate with people who work in game dev companies but also aspiring game developers, hobbyists, and all kinds of other people interested in the industry. Don't get me wrong, I see plenty of people having trouble finding a position in games. It's just that this isn't limited to people with or without degrees (and isn't even limited to engineering positions specifically, where finding work seems to be easier). A lot of the time the people I see asking about their troubles finding a position simply don't have a portfolio of work to show potential employers. And then there are people who haven't started applying yet but want to prepare. They ask in online development communities what they need to do to be ready - a lot of the time the answer from other people who do or have worked in games is to make games and build a portfolio, not necessarily ship off to college by default. Having said that nobody is disputing that college can be a great way to build that portfolio and learn things at the same time! The paper itself just doesn't seem to be as important as it used to be anymore.

drakonka 11y ago

> Also note that without a degree your employment possibilities are more limited. You will probably have the most luck in web or mobile app development. I don't think this is really the case anymore. I work at a largeish game dev company and know quite a few people (coworkers and just other developers working for other companies) who have no degree and no trouble finding jobs. Admittedly this is purely from personal observation specifically in game dev, but it doesn't seem like my degree-less friends get any fewer recruitment offers or advancement opportunities than friends who went to college.

origamize 11y ago
Your sample is subject to some pretty heavy selection bias though. How would someone who does not have a degree and is having trouble finding a position know you through working at a game dev company?
- drakonka 11y ago
  By nature of the fact that I don't only associate with people who work in game dev companies but also aspiring game developers, hobbyists, and all kinds of other people interested in the industry. Don't get me wrong, I see plenty of people having trouble finding a position in games. It's just that this isn't limited to people with or without degrees (and isn't even limited to engineering positions specifically, where finding work seems to be easier). A lot of the time the people I see asking about their troubles finding a position simply don't have a portfolio of work to show potential employers. And then there are people who haven't started applying yet but want to prepare. They ask in online development communities what they need to do to be ready - a lot of the time the answer from other people who do or have worked in games is to make games and build a portfolio, not necessarily ship off to college by default. Having said that nobody is disputing that college can be a great way to build that portfolio and learn things at the same time! The paper itself just doesn't seem to be as important as it used to be anymore.