Love Computer Games? Get Paid for Playing!

The video game industry is one that interests many people who are looking for employment. While there are many job opportunities in this sector, getting the position that you want will not always be easy and may require some time. Here is how to better prepare yourself.

1. Think about what skills you have

There are many different areas of specialty within the whole video game industry, such as Game Programming, graphic design, video editing, quality assurance, etc. Naturally, you must have the required skills to get a job in these fields. So if you want to work in game programming, for example, you will need to know several programming languages and software development tools well. It will be very helpful to have education in a certain area of the  Game Development process, however bear in mind that having a degree will not guarantee that you will get the job that you want.

1. Acquire some experience if needed

Employers frequently look for people who already have experience with video games or at least in a related field such as graphic design or software development. If you don't have too much experience under your belt, you may want to consider an entry-level position such as Video Game Testing. However, “experience” doesn't always have to be actual employment. For example, if you have made some small video games yourself, or if you have made mods or add-ons for existing games, this can be very beneficial to you, especially if your creations are quite popular and have been used by a respectable number of people.

1. Consider the fact that you may need to move and/or travel around the world

Many video game companies are located in or near major cities such as New York, Los Angeles or Miami. Getting the job that you want may require you to relocate and this is something you must keep under consideration. Furthermore, certain jobs in the game development sector will require you to travel in order to attend industry events and presentations. Many game companies have offices in different parts of the world, so if you have unique skills and talents, you may also be assigned temporarily to a different location in order to lend a hand on a project.

1. Look for suitable positions

This is actually the easiest part of the process. You can simply get online and look at job sites, classified ad sites as well as the “careers” section of video game companies. Freelancing sites such as RentACoder could also be great places as you can find certain projects that you can do from home and get paid for it. The pay may not be very high for freelance work, but if you do a good job you may end up being hired on a permanent basis or be assigned to more important tasks that could bring you more revenue.