Hey all, I don't want to bore you all with my life story and how I got where I am today, so I will make it simple.

I never went to college, but now would like to. The only thing is I want to do an online degree program. I want to get into some form of game design, and graphic designing does sound good. The only problem is I am terribly un-artistic. So I scratched that off my life.

Does anyone have experience with the gaming industry, and could also list some degrees that would help to get a position in it. I am open to anything really, just as long as I could be part of making a game in some way.

I was looking at a course for dynamic web design and web based games, what do you guys think of that?

Also does anyone know of some online schools with decent reputations? So far I am looking at fullsail (lots of money), Devry Online, and Westwood Online. Some people have said bad things about Westwood, so I am skeptical.

Sorry for the bad format, this is the millionth forum I have posted on for this topic :) All help and info will be appreciated!

Speaking as someone who is in the gaming industry now I can tell you that it is a hella-bitch to get into and it's not peaches once you get here.

I really don't know how constructive I can be at providing precise degree's that will help you; I got in through sheer hard work.

- I took and graduated a Software Engineering Degree. I took numerous design courses, programing courses, theory, etc.

- I interned where I could when I could during off times

- Worked crappy jobs whenever I could at gaming stores, admin jobs for gaming companies, etc.

- I went to every gaming trade show I could possibly afford to go too whenever I could.

- I networked my butt off with development teams, leads, project managers, whoever had any intrest in me and what I was trying to get to.

- I went to employment trade shows.

And that's just a start, I dumped all of my efforts to getting a foot in the door. Once I got a very small opportunity to work somewhere, which was away from the city I was living in at the time, I packed up, moved and made the very best of it. I worked late, came in early and tried my best to contribute to the team.

In the end it has worked out but looking back on it now I'm not sure I would do it again. That being said I truly believe I have one of the best jobs in the world in an industry that is crazy fun, if not downtright deranged at times, and I have lots of goals going forward.

If you really want to get into this business figure out what you're good at, look at a typical production house and see what kind of jobs they employ. Once you find a job you think you can make a living at and be really passionate about it, figure out what it would take to be that one person that would be perfect for that job and work your rear off at making it happen.

Be prepared for very long hours, a lot of rejection, lots of competition, be willing to move, be willing to be poor or borderline for the next 3 to 5 years or more (depending on your education level and whether you are independently wealthy, I was/am not).

Been thinking about that. Thought maybe go the test route trying get a Job as a quality tester, but I suspected it would take a lot of effort. Along with gaming and like working with games my other passion is writtng, eventualy I chose writing. Both are careers one will have to sacrifice much for little returns in the beginning.

It will help for sure knowing the right people or being really good at what you do.

Its incredibly difficult to get a job in the gaming industry, but I imagine rewarding.  You have to work your ass off then get a lower paying job then what your skillset is worth.  The test route is one of the more difficult paths and pays very little.  This goes along with Producer, Owner, and Designer.  The easiest paths are programming and art.  Programming is probably the easiest path because programmers are practical enough to know that saying you work on games is just that.  The work isn't different then working as a government contractor or software developer.  The exception is you are going to put in long hours for less pay.

The best method to get in is to target a different industry in order to get your chops in, pad your resume, and increase your skill level.  Then try and get a job due to over-qualification.  There is less competition for people with 5 years experience opposed to entry-level.  The other method to get in is to create your own job in the game industry.  Either by becoming an owner, or working with indy groups to develop a small game while you work a different job.

Thank you all very much for the feedback!

Does anyone have any experience with any indy sort of work? I would actually prefer to start out with that sort of a job. Working with an indy team while keeping a regular job. Do the indy companies pay their teams, or is it used to build a portfolio sort of, show off what you are capable of?

Working with an indy company or start-up usually doesn't pay.  Its just to build up a portfolio and is more likely to lead to a permanent position if the company takes off.

Originally posted by GrubbsGrady

Thank you all very much for the feedback!

Does anyone have any experience with any indy sort of work? I would actually prefer to start out with that sort of a job. Working with an indy team while keeping a regular job. Do the indy companies pay their teams, or is it used to build a portfolio sort of, show off what you are capable of?

As Cleffy noted, there's not much money in working for indy companies but they are a wonderful resource to build your experience and it's one of those where it can be a win/win for both parties. You can offer free services to a project that needs manpower and in turn you will gain experience by getting a real world hours on a team in whatever field you decide to take up.

But in terms of long range salary expectations, don't set yourself too high if you are looking at working for independent production houses.

I have still hopes that one day people will like my stories so much that one brave company want to hire me to write the story for their game. :D

Many paths one can get into the gaming industry. Being an System Administrator I could apply for such a job at a gaming company,I would have one foot in for future development, but those jobs are not many. I saw one vacancy that did fit my skill and qualifications perfectly but I do not want to move to Colorado USA, I prefer to stay in Europe. You also need luck in finding the right opportunity.

You could prepare yourseld in many way, learn coding and get experience coding.

Learn animation/3d modelling and get experience.

There are some Gaming company's that take on people fresh out of school though still you would have to be good, not just the piece of paper but tangible experience and previous work to show for.

It's hard work but doable. Just go for it, learn by creating your own stuff.

Another thing would be to mess with SDKs and get familiar with the different tools available. Try making a mod for Half Life 2, or try your hand at mapmaking with the Unreal 3 engine. Source and Unreal books are available at your local bookstore in the computers section.  The mod tools for both are easily available and would be a great way to get your feet wet.

Testing is another ball of wax alltogether. It's a great foot in the door, entry level gig and a way to get yourself established. Expect a lot of repetition and long hours, if you work on the publishing side of things, be prepared to work on games you wouldn't play normally, or just don't like on a personal level as well. You could be grinding away hours on a build of the latest kid tv show fad.