Hello All,

I am newer to game development after many years working professionally in a different field. As I am coming to the completion of a B.S. in game programming, my previous experience with trying to find my first job in a different professional field is haunting me. To sum it up I had a difficult time finding a job in the field due to not having any previous in industry work experience. I notice that a lot of job descriptions within game programming and development are also looking for in industry experience, or previously shipped titles etc.. As someone who wants to get into game programming as a living when my degree is completed, what would you all recommend as a way to overcome this lack of in industry experience, or what would be the best path to gain this experience moving forward?

As Tom said, you just have to start creating your own ‘experience’ to show employers. If you're aiming for entry level programming positions it's not strictly necessary to finish your games, and certainly not to get them to a highly polished standard, but it helps. I would recommend focusing on covering enough ground that it shows you have a good knowledge of the field and will be able to contribute positively to any area of the codebase, within reason.

My previous professional career was as a Nuclear Chemist and as a Nuclear Engineer. I understand that most fields are not someplace where you can get a degree and expect miraculous results. Thank you everyone for your feedback and assistance. I appreciate your help as I started the degree last year while working, and will be completing the degree this coming spring, therefore, since I see the end in sight I am trying to figure out my next steps going forward.