   Questions for you professional programmers.
  Couple questions from a novice programmer who wishes to go all the way mastering programming and landing a career on it.1. If you currently work for a company, what company is it?2. Was there high competition for the position?3. What kind of education did you get?4. What degrees do you have?5. What college/university did you graduate from?6. Do you enjoy your job?7. What are the chances of me successfuly landing a job in a major game company if you get lower than average grades?About the last question, although I don't consider myself "stupid", I am lazy and a procrastinator, which affects my grades dramaticaly.  I am planning on going to 2 years community college then transfering to a California State University in Fullerton.Thank you for your time   
  1) Not going to say, but it's a major developer.2) There always is, especially for the junior positions. There's still competition for senior positions, but the more experienced and proven you are, the easier it tends to be to land a job. Knowing as many people as possible in the industry definately helps.3) 4 year university degree.4) Bachelor of Computer Science (major), minor in History.5) Carleton (in Canada)6) Yes. Very much (except on occassion).7) If you're in high school then you have lots of time to improve your grades. I didn't do too well in high school (mostly due to not trying and laziness), but I rolled my socks up in University and worked really hard. You won't succeed for long if you don't want to put in an effort.If you indeed have a problem with laziness and procrastination, and you're finding it hard to shake, then maybe a 2 year community college stint might be good since it might allow you to blow off some steam before diving head first (and making a real effort) in a University degree. If you're never able to shake this bad habbit, then you're probably in for some trouble.   ;  I'm a visual designer & interactive developer/programmer at R/GA.1. rga2. I assume so3. B.A in Film Production4. ^5. Rowan University6. Yep.7. Can't answer.After reviewing my answers.. and then your questions.. I think you might want to ask some more specifics from people in regards to your plans.   ;Quote:Original post by jYeon2061Couple questions from a novice programmer who wishes to go all the way mastering programming and landing a career on it.1. If you currently work for a company, what company is it?2. Was there high competition for the position?3. What kind of education did you get?4. What degrees do you have?5. What college/university did you graduate from?6. Do you enjoy your job?7. What are the chances of me successfuly landing a job in a major game company if you get lower than average grades?About the last question, although I don't consider myself "stupid", I am lazy and a procrastinator, which affects my grades dramaticaly.  I am planning on going to 2 years community college then transfering to a California State University in Fullerton.Thank you for your timeThank you for being honest, but I'm sorry to say that it will not be poor grades but rather this bolded section that will be the reason you will never get a job in the game industry, and probably not even regular software development in general.As for your list:1. Generally speaking, it's a bad idea to advertise in public forums for whom you work. If anything you ever say could be construed as negative towards your current employerer, you don't want any traces of who your employer actually is. Still beware, I have always been very careful about this and have *still* gotten bitched out by my boss for speaking negatively about the company. They eventually gave me a raise to make me feel better... anyway, it's a smallish consulting firm (~100 employees) focusing on contract development for local commercial and industrial companies.2. No, but I have progressed very rapidly in the company, and that leads me to believe that I am highly valued. In just over a year I am now one of the top developers, and the lead for my own project, with a new developer about to start under me. I've thought about leaving because of a desire to live somewhere else, but I wouldn't have been given this much responsibility so early somewhere else, so I will stick around for a while, I guess.3. One that involved learning, a lot, which is why I'm so freaking awesome.4. A bachelor's of science in computer science5. Shippensburg University, class of 2005, cum laude, Upsilon Pi Epsilon6. Most days, yes7. and I already answered this one.As for getting over your laziness, I suggest getting jobs over the summer between your universities semesters that all involve manual labor. Work for a landscaper. Work at a retail chain's supply warehouse (did this one, right after my 5pm to 8pm job as a martial arts instructor, in middle of July, from 9pm to 5am, in a freezer). You will learn to appreciate office work, and never think twice again about slacking off.   ;  1. Like others, not going to say.2. Not exactly.  I was working in QA when a software engineer position opened up, and I got it as an inside hire.  More on this later...3. Computer Science & Engineering4. Bachelor of Science in CS&E5. UC Davis6. Usually, depends on what I am working on at the moment.7. Your grades will probably only influence getting your first job.  After that, who cares?  Interviewers will be much more interested on projects you've worked on.  As for landing a job at a game company... yes, apply, but also apply to non-game companies, and you might not be able to get an engineering position right out of college.  Often it is not what you know, but who you know.  I know I would not have gotten the job I have if it wasn't an inside hire.From your last remark, I take it you are a high school senior about to go to college?  That means you do not have bad grades yet, so don't count yourself out there yet. (Note that high school grades mean absolutely nothing after you graduate high school.)   ;  1. A small company in Osaka, Japan2. I don't think so. They weren't looking for people when they hired me.3. Standard Canadian junior kindergarten->university4. Software Engineering (B.Eng)5. McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada)6. I'm getting bored and I hate the overtime, but it should get better when I'm not doing entry-level stuff7. They never looked at my grades.  They don't know English, so they wouldn't have understood anything, anyway.  Having passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test was important, though.  I imagine that unless you're coming to Japan, it won't help you too much.   ;  Hi,1. Eidos2. Very.3. Degree in Computing for Real Time Systems4. That one.5. UWE in Bristol, England6. Love it.7. My degree only qualified me with a degree, it didn't help me techinically  in relation to the technologies we use at work. Needless to say, it helps to have a degree, you get noticed more easily. But if you don't have one and are techinically proficient in technologies related to the job you are applying for, you have a chance.Just work hard, i put in about 5 years of work in my own time to get to where i am.   ;  1. A research institute for serious games.2. I ended up here through to use of my personal network, rather than responding to published job offers, so I don't know.3/4/5. Industrial design and engineering, Law6. Every morning I walk into the office, I have an orgasm.7. I feel that showing your potential through some sort of portfolio or extra-curricular activities are worth more than high grades. But it's not an excuse for slacking off.   ;Quote:Original post by jYeon2061Couple questions from a novice programmer who wishes to go all the way mastering programming and landing a career on it.1. If you currently work for a company, what company is it?2. Was there high competition for the position?3. What kind of education did you get?4. What degrees do you have?5. What college/university did you graduate from?6. Do you enjoy your job?7. What are the chances of me successfuly landing a job in a major game company if you get lower than average grades?About the last question, although I don't consider myself "stupid", I am lazy and a procrastinator, which affects my grades dramaticaly.  I am planning on going to 2 years community college then transfering to a California State University in Fullerton.Thank you for your time1) A small company in the UK2) I'm pretty sure there was although I didn't have to ask since they offered me the job before I got home after leaving3) BEng in Software Engineering (hons), 4 A-Levels including physics & maths..4) See above..5) UMIST (damn you University of Manchester for buying them out before I got my degree..!)6) I love it..7) The chances of you landing a job doesn't depend on whether I get lower than average grades.. ;PHowever if 'you' get lower than average grades then the competition is alot tougher but if you're dedicated & passionate about landing a job then you'll spend every waking hour of your spare time until you've built that multi-threaded next gen renderer to prove your worth & hopefully prove what your grades didn't..Good luck!   ;  Guess, I'll toss my $.02 in [grin]1. Private company that does a lot of military contract work2. No3. High school college prep courses (several first year college type courses my senior year of high school)4. None5. N/A6. Most of the time7. Not very good. On top of that being a self-admitted "lazy and a procrastinator" person will just about kill any chance you have of getting a programming job, or any other high-tech job unless you straighten up.   