Entering into the product design or game development employment market

Forums › IT Pro and developers › Entering into the product design or game development employment market

sen8or

1897 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1402

#315919 30-Aug-2024 10:05

Hopefully this is allowed here -

My son graduated with a degree in product design / game development from UC last year. There seems to be a shortage of jobs for graduate / entry level roles. Are there any tricks to getting a foot in the door?

He has done a small amount of unpaid intern work via an Australian company, but outside that has not had any luck. Any tips would be much appreciated.

Regards

Sen

1 | 2

5655 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3978

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3277157 30-Aug-2024 13:38

I don't have any specific advice sorry, but his timing isn't ideal.

In general there's still some demand for experienced / senior technical people in various fields like security, but with the recession and the public sector budget cuts, there's been a bit of a flood of people into the market who are applying for more junior roles than they might otherwise have considered.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup. Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

marpada

487 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 182

#3277175 30-Aug-2024 14:02

As Lias said it's tough market as I've never seem before so he'll need to be patient. It might help building a portfolio of projects in his github where he can showcase his skills. Also playing the game (no pun intended) of "building a personal brand" by creating content in linkedin, and grow his network by attending meetups and conferences.

ascroft

437 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 177

#3277181 30-Aug-2024 14:10

This might have some contacts: https://www.nz-code.nz

Mark

"Artificial Intelligence" - aka Machine Learning 2.0

BuffyNZ

241 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 27

#3277185 30-Aug-2024 14:21

Summer of Tech (if its not too late) is a good way to get a foot in the door.

Going to local events, meetups and conferences is a good way to meet prospective employers.

Canterbury Tech Summit used to be good, but I have not been for a while.

Getting experiences in an adjacent tech field if you cant get into what you really want is still valuable.

Recursion: See recursion.
--
“It is important not to let the perfect become the enemy of the good, even when you can agree on what perfect is. Doubly so when you can't. As unpleasant as it is to be trapped by past mistakes, you can't make any progress by being afraid of your own shadow during design.”

--Greg Hudson, Subversion developer

gzt

18678 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7809

Lifetime subscriber

#3277244 30-Aug-2024 18:10

sen8or: My son graduated with a degree in product design / game development from UC last year. There seems to be a shortage of jobs for graduate / entry level roles. Are there any tricks to getting a foot in the door?

This is the degree? https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/study/academic-study/engineering/schools-and-departments-engineering-forestry-product-design/school-of-product-design/study-applied-immersive-game-design

gzt

18678 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7809

Lifetime subscriber

#3277245 30-Aug-2024 18:12

sen8or: My son graduated with a degree in product design / game development from UC last year. There seems to be a shortage of jobs for graduate / entry level roles. Are there any tricks to getting a foot in the door?

Is he looking at the gaming industry specifically and are there particular roles in gaming he is more interested in than others?

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

networkn

Networkn
32862 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15453

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3277270 30-Aug-2024 20:28

Given the market for his particular interests seem a bit flat right now, I'd suggest he considers ways he could get more experience in adjacent areas of interest, especially, if they will assist in making his overall skillset in his chosen area more complete.

I am not sure of his financial situation, but potentially have him raise with potential employers a part time position.

If he's good at what he does, then a foot in the door should be all he needs.

sen8or

1897 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1402

#3278185 2-Sep-2024 12:31

Thanks for the replies, yes, it was the immersive Game Design degree. He has a linked-in profile and his own portfolio of game designs / artworks / renders etc. Its fortunate he has part time employment and isn't under financial pressure (as that would really make life difficult), but not even getting so much as a "thanks but no thanks" on applications is grinding after quite a period.

networkn

Networkn
32862 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15453

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3278186 2-Sep-2024 12:32

sen8or:

Thanks for the replies, yes, it was the immersive Game Design degree. He has a linked-in profile and his own portfolio of game designs / artworks / renders etc. Its fortunate he has part time employment and isn't under financial pressure (as that would really make life difficult), but not even getting so much as a "thanks but no thanks" on applications is grinding after quite a period.

Without any hits, I'd suggest he might consider paying a recruiter to review his C.V

networkn

Networkn
32862 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15453

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3278189 2-Sep-2024 12:55

@sen8or any chance you could change the spelling of your subject, it's causing me a nervous tic :)

cddt

1965 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1904

#3279257 5-Sep-2024 12:20

https://matchstiq.io/ ?

My referral links: BigPipe | Mercury

New World

Shop on-line at New World now for your groceries (affiliate link).

sen8or

1897 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1402

#3279421 6-Sep-2024 07:51

thanks, have forwarded the link on.

kingdragonfly

11984 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 12867

Subscriber

#3286776 26-Sep-2024 20:22

In getting a job, flexibility is key.

I want to get a job at Singapore's "Bubble Planet."

But I work for those willing to hire me, on whatever pays the bills, moving to wherever the job is.

After working at a job for a year, making the boss happy, I ask for training in a career path that's a bit closer to what I want to pursue.

You may want to buy him these books

“What Color is Your Parachute?” by Richard N. Bolles - This classic career guide covers everything from CV's to finding your ideal career path.

“The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success” by Megan McArdle - This book emphasizes the importance of learning from failures and how to turn setbacks into opportunities.

not just for women

“Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead” by Sheryl Sandberg - Although focused on women, this book offers valuable insights into overcoming professional challenges and advancing in your career.

toejam316

1516 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 888

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3286779 26-Sep-2024 20:46

Given the state of the job market, it might pay to pursue either developing small scale stuff himself to build a portfolio, or work on either creating or contributing to existing projects and mods. There's plenty of FoSS stuff he could work with and on, and mods usually are interested in picking up capable people to work on their projects.

Join Quic Broadband with my referral - no sign up fee and gives me account credit

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

kingdragonfly

11984 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 12867

Subscriber

#3286844 26-Sep-2024 22:20

toejam316:There's plenty of FoSS stuff he could work with and on, and mods usually are interested in picking up capable people to work on their projects.

Along those lines, open source graphic software GIMP is popular (because everyday more professionals hate Adobe)

Open-source video editors, Kdenlive and Shotcut are popular due to their robust feature sets and active communities.

Blender is one of the most well-known and powerful open-source 3D creation suites.

1 | 2