Information for getting into the industry

[ChopperDave]

Here's a bunch of useful sites/info I've collected that may help some of you find a job in the industry (if that's what you're going for):

Game Career Guide

http://www.gamecareerguide.com

Full of all kinds of info about having/getting a career in the games industry.

Gamasutra

http://www.gamasutra.com

All kinds of news on the industry and also includes a job board.

Game Industry Map

http://www.gameindustrymap.com

A world map showing the physical locations of many game companies. Not all are listed, and some are located in the wrong locations (somehow Epic ended up in Maryland when they're in North Carolina), but overall it's still useful.

Creative Heads

http://www.creativeheads.net

Job board for the games, film, and multimedia industries.

Wired Talent

http://www.wiredtalent.com

Another games industry HR firm.

Cyber Coders

http://www.cybercoders.com

Job board for programmers, sometimes contains jobs in the games industry.

Mapcore

http://www.mapcore.net

Site focused on level design and art. Many industry professionals hang out there, making it a good place to network.

DevBump

http://www.devbump.com

An offshoot of mapcore that contains all kinds of news on the industry (sometimes job postings too).

LinkedIn

http://www.linkedin.com

A contact management and networking site used by industry professionals (mainly HR people)

Game Developer's Conference

http://www.gdconf.com

If you haven't been, you must go. This is essential to getting a job in the industry and/or making contacts.

SIGGRAPH

http://www.siggraph.org

Similar to GDC, but specifically focused on computer graphics, and not necessarily games-oriented. Has a career fair and expo that are mostly geared towards artists, but there is still some stuff for programmers too.

Gamedev.net

http://www.gamedev.net

Mostly for hobbyist development, it sometimes has info on game jobs.

GameRecruiter.com

http://www.gamerecruiter.com

An HR company that recruits specifically for jobs in the games industry, usually the jobs that aren't publicly listed. Unfortunately, this firm is for those who are already experienced and looking for their next job, so it won't help you get your foot in the door.


And here is a list of info I received from GameRecruiter:
------------

We suggest that you read the book Get In The Game: Careers in the Game Industry, http://www.peachpit.com/getinthegame

After reading this book, submit your resume directly to various game companies that interest you.

Here are some other helpful links:

http://www.gignews.com - Development Tips, Open Jobs, Job Hunting Advice, Good Source of Industry People.
http://www.gdse.com - Game Development Search Engine
http://www.neoseeker.com - Game Product Reviews, Good Database for Identifying Companies by Genre or Platform.
http://www.vgyellowpages.com - The Video Game Yellow Pages.

Follow these suggestions to be your most effective in your job hunt and face-to-face Interviews.
http://www.gignews.com/perfectresume.htm - Creating A Perfect Resume
http://www.gignews.com/jobcampaign_part1.htm - Your Personalized Job Hunt Campaign.
http://www.gignews.com/interview_questions.htm - Interviewing Tips.
http://www.gignews.com/gamereferences.htm - Your References.
-----------

Games On Deck

http://jobs.gamesondeck.com/

Job board for mobile games.

Serious Games Source

http://jobs.seriousgamessource.com/

Job board for serious games.

Getting a Job (videos)

http://media.pc.ign.com/articles/792/792352/vids_1.html

Serious yet funny videos on how to get a job in the industry as an artist or designer.

Games Industry

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/

Lots of info on the games industry. Contains a jobs page too, though only updated once in a while.

Games Recruit

http://www.gamesrecruit.co.uk/

Job board for the European game development.

Game Jobs

http://www.gamejobs.com/

Another job board for the games industry.

Indie Game Jobs

http://www.indiegamejobs.com/

Job board for the indie game development industry.

Digital Artist Management (DAM)

http://www.digitalartistmanagement.com/

Recruiting firm for artists for the games industry.

Next Generation

http://www.next-gen.biz/

The latest and greatest in game development. Has a job board too.

Cool Game Jobs

http://www.coolgamejobs.com/

A very small HR firm focused on the games industry.

Digital Game Developer

http://gamedeveloper.digitalmedianet.com/

Website focused on computer graphics, special effects, and video. Lots of cool info for artists.

Game Developer Magazine

http://www.gdmag.com/

Very good magazine. Definitely worth reading.

Animation Mentor

http://www.animationmentor.com/

If you ever want to learn how to animate, this is the best place to learn it. Cryptic Studios now requires all prospective animators to go through the program -- it's that good.

Animation Arena

http://www.animationarena.com/

Loads of information on animation, including info on the education, the jobs, and the tools involved.

A Digital Dreamer

http://www.adigitaldreamer.com/

Targeted at artists, graphic designers, game designers, and animators. Provides information on schools and what each type of job entails.

Fierce Game Biz

http://www.fiercegamebiz.com/

Assortment of info on the games industry. As of June 1, 2007, the magazine has officially shut down, so I don't know how much longer the site will be running.

Games Job News

http://www.gamesjobnews.com/

Yet another job board. Careful though -- the colors make the site painful to look at.

Game Discovery

http://www.gamediscovery.com/

And yet another site with a job board. Some of these jobs overlap with other sites though.

David Perry

http://www.dperry.com/

The man who brought us the Game Industry Map has a whole bunch of useful info on his site. Check it out.

Datascope Recruitment

http://www.datascope.co.uk/

HR Firm for video game recruitment in Europe.

Specialmove Recruitment

http://www.specialmove.com/

For UK and US game jobs.

Mary Margaret

http://www.mary-margaret.com/

VERY good recruitment firm for the entertainment industry.

Frappr!

http://www.frappr.com/gamesdevhouses

Another game industry map, also in the beta stage.

GameDevMap

http://www.gamedevmap.com/

A faster and simpler game industry map.

Outsource Report

http://www.outsourcereport.com/

Great place to list yourself if you like doing contract jobs.

Sumea

http://www.sumea.com.au/

Developer site for Australians and New Zealanders. Has jobs too.



Feel free to add to this list any other useful info and/or tips you have.

[Mr. Happy]

Well thats nice and helpfull of you!

EDIT: That map is pretty cool Seems Aegia is in my area. Now to get a press card and go in all "I'm here for my appointment. What do you mean you don't have me down? Well, give me a PhysX card. Thanks!"

[Spas12]

sticky please.

Looks useful, ill look around later.

[Penney]

Very nice to see, thanks for the info :0

[Psy]

Omg, it's so sticky.

[Garrador]

nice dave

[ChopperDave]

Added two more links to job boards.

[Prvt_Peanut]

Anybody able to get the UK working on that game industry map thing?

[ChopperDave]

I tried doing a search yesterday and it was broken. Guess it still is.

[ChopperDave]

Added a lot more links.

BTW, how big can the OP get before it starts to break things?

[Mr. Happy]

seen some unbelievably long ones at least

[nub]

Holy shit!

Nvidia is in South Carolina?!

-ness!


PS: No I'm not a redneck. I was born in the great state of Michigan.

[Spas12]

I think this should be added: http://www.animationarena.com/video-game-salary.html

[ChopperDave]

Animation Arena is already on the list . But game salaries are handy to know. Game Developer Magazine does them every year and they do complete statistical breakdowns -- definitely a good thing to look at if you're interested.

[Mr. Happy]

I was looking at those surveys and it looks like over the past five years design and art salaries have been going down, while programming salaries have been going up quite a bit.



Though last years gave an average of around $10,000/year bouns compensation (stock options/royalties/bonuses, etc.), didn't find those numbers for 2002.