   Game and Simulation - Devry
  Alright I am just wanting to know how useful my degree can be.I am in my third semester at DeVry for Game and simulation. I work at a Technical Software Support job. Fixing and working through errors with software the company I work for provides. I was also in the military for four years, with experience with SatCom, Elint, Comint, and any other for of intelligence. I also worked for a three letter agency for 2 years. I am wondering what people/employers will think of me getting this degree with the current experience I have in the computer field.Let me know what you guys think. I am sure I can do a job at a large gaming company, but I am just wanting know if I would ever be able to get a job like that with this degree and skill set I bring/will bring to the table.   
  Do you have a portfolio?Yeah. Nothing else really matters.   ;  Right now I don't have a portfolio, once I learn more about the subject I will be working more on that. Including the last 3 or 4 classes are classes where all I do is design and program with an instructor overseeing my work.   ;  No. Start working on your portfolio now. When you apply for jobs in the game industry, you're going to want to show some completed projects. They don't have to be large and they don't have to use the absolute latest and greatest technologies and techniques; they just need to demonstrate technical aptitude and a minimum level of competence expected by that studio. The sooner you start working on your portfolio, in your spare time, the more time you have to finish and polish it up.Keep in mind that this is a portfolio of your own accomplishments and projects - utilities and tools, games, applications. Waiting on school before starting on those suggests that this would only be a job to you, as opposed to a passion.   ;  i'm an upper classmen in the same field. having the degree will only help in situations where two equally skilled programmers go for the same job.ps. the school doesnt teach you nearly enough. make sure you start your portfolio early and learn more than is expected of you from the curriculum.   ;Quote:Original post by OluseyiNo. Start working on your portfolio now. When you apply for jobs in the game industry, you're going to want to show some completed projects. They don't have to be large and they don't have to use the absolute latest and greatest technologies and techniques; they just need to demonstrate technical aptitude and a minimum level of competence expected by that studio. The sooner you start working on your portfolio, in your spare time, the more time you have to finish and polish it up.Keep in mind that this is a portfolio of your own accomplishments and projects - utilities and tools, games, applications. Waiting on school before starting on those suggests that this would only be a job to you, as opposed to a passion.+1The husband of a friend of mine works at Blizzard and he got the job on portfolio alone. He has no degree (or at least didn't at the time he got hired).Also, as another poster stated go above and beyond the ciriculum. Colleges will teach you (I've been to three colleges, my current being Devry) but its up to you to take it to the next step especially in something like programming and game design.   ;  Devry's degree is about half a step up from a blatant scam. The degree will not impress anyone who is familiar with the course content; it simply doesn't cover enough material to actually produce competent game programmers. The few people I know of who have been through that program have succeeded entirely on the strength of skills they already had outside the degree program.In any case, as Oluseyi said, the only thing that matters is your portfolio. If you're gunning for a programming job, you don't necessarily have to have a games-exclusive portfolio; utilities, applications, etc. count as well. But if you can't show off a good 3-4 projects (and hopefully more than that), don't expect to get very far.There are a huge number of people competing for entry level positions in the industry, and the economic situation has churned up a fairly large number of people competing for mid-level positions as well. So you really have to shine if you want to get noticed. Your skill set will probably be enough to land a position if you can demonstrate a passion for game development and some game-related skills.;  I'm just starting the program at DeVry, and I can already tell you buy actually ASKING individuals from the PR departments of several game companies, that they are more or less interested in what you can do than what specific school you got your particular degree.I started researching because a lot of people on several different communities made a lot of negative remarks about the program, but a degree will always be better than no degree in a market that requires professionals.  Regardless of where you obtained it.As mentioned before, continue learning outside of your class.  Build your portfolio now, because when you graduate and actually want to be able to join the market in which you earned the degree for, you will need it.  The reason why they say to start now is so that the code that you are showing off has to be in perfection.  If the hiring party gets a run time error or some sort of bug, they won't be interested in why the crash occurred, they will just be interested in looking at the next applicant who has a bug-free portfolio.   