How Valuable is Work Experience for Game Development?

If you are interested in a job in the games industry, then one of the first steps you should take is finding a work experience position. Game development work experience will give you real world knowledge as to what working for a game studio is actually like. Not only will you find this knowledge useful for your own game development career, but it will help you stand out from the crowd of other applicants. So, what does it take to get a work experience position at a game studio? Here are the steps you should take to get a work experience position in a game studio as well as the benefits.

How to Get Game Development Work Experience

Here are some steps you should take to score a work experience position with a game studio:

1. Have a passion for making games. This might seem obvious, but playing games and making games are two different things. Playing games will give you some insight into the field. However, you need to have a passion for creating and designing games to make it in the industry.
2. Build your portfolio. What training have you done? Have you made any indie games yourself? Any experience or skills you have built up in terms of game design can be used in your CVs and applications. Even failed projects can prove useful if you understand exactly what went wrong.
3. Work with others. The more projects you become involved in, the more skills and knowledge you will build up. Try to get exposure to different facets of game design for the most well-rounded experience.
4. Keep applying. The games industry is a competitive market and even work experience positions will have many applicants. So, you may not get your first choice of studio, or even your second or third. But if you keep applying while still building your portfolio, you will get there in the end.

Benefits of Game Development Work Experience

There are several benefits of getting some game development work experience. It:

• Helps build up your portfolio, leading to higher paid positions.
• Shows the studios that you have the passion, skills and knowledge that will benefit them.
• Complements any training or education you are receiving in the field.
• Gives you a taste of what working in the games sector is really like.
• Helps you focus your skills in one or more areas of game design.
• Ensures you stand out from the crowd in a very competitive market.

How OPMjobs Can Help

Here at OPMjobs, we help those with creative talents find innovative and fulfilling jobs within the games industry. We can offer you choices from a wide range of careers in one of over 100 game studios spread throughout the world. Whatever your area of interest in game design, we can help find a position that meets your talent and passion. To find out more about our current game industry jobs please browse our vacancies online, or talk with our friendly team for more information.