Future Job Games Industry/Computer Technical Support

[JustifyHerko]

Hey guys!

My mind is all over this decision at the moment,
I'm currently at college doing Computer Games Development and It's going ok, There is a huge work load but this was suspected and i have also shown myself in the course by winning a competition which was then presented by Oracle, This was by making a game with a fellow student in my class.

Back to the point. I have been thinking lately and that i was thinking is this course for me, Could i cope with the amount of work gonna get handed to me in the future etc! Also are currently a college running it's own Game Studio called Aspire Studio's! Which I'am apart of in hoping something good will come out of it.

My Decision was is either to move over to Computer technical support and learn that and mayba get into Networking or something or stick with the Computer games design? I do enjoy the class but i think i might struggle in the future of next years progression of the course and if i did it would just be a waste of so many years doing something i never liked or was interested in. Right now i'am still intrested in it but have a sight that the intrest might dissapear at somepoint,

I like to work with computers and just be around computers at all times! I like to fix them and into all of that, And was kinda where i would see myself in a few years time doing Technical support engineer or Network Engineer. But then this came up, My passion of games and the industry i couldent resist.

? What should i do, Stick with this, or move to technical side of things?

 

[SuB]

dude, trust me when I say, you want to avoid being in 'support' of any kind, people are stupid.. and infuriating.

Stick to doing something you LOVE and it won't feel like a job, if making games gives you a raging nerd-on STICK WITH IT. Hardest thing in the world is getting a job that doesn't feel like a job.

 

[CrazyTeeka]

Worked in tech support once, phone rang, Lady asks "I'm in windows what do I do?". I was speechless. ^_^

 

[barnsley]

I work in IT support. It really depends on the company as to how enjoyable it is. You have to be able to put up with people who don't know how to use a computer at all though so if you're not a patient person its not for you.

-edit- I like my job alot however as I'm the same age/younger than the students here its a bit ...awkward at times.

 

[QuietOne]

I travel a lot in my job, replacing Base units and such in Primark, Wickes etc. Some calls are pretty dumb. ie no power to chip and pin, they go through the usual procedures and still doesn't work and I go there and see the PSU for the CnP isn't plugged into the mains.

 

[WillSK]

It sounds like you do well at games development so if you enjoy it then definitely pursue it. The hours may be long and the work tough, but if you are interested and enjoy what you do you'll be far happier.

If you think you'll be happier on the other course however then go with that.

Don't think about money/hours/career prospects etc. initially, focus on the job role itself and then make your decision from there

 

[SuB]

some pretty big bonus options in game development if you get into the right place or have a big release.

 

[Topham]

Hey pal, if you want to come into Support id gladly swap with you . Honestly stick to what your doing now, you will easily be able to jump right into a support role with what you doing now. if you can design games for the PC, you definately understand them (PC's). I got into a role by just working in tesco's and showed that i help the family with their IT issues at home and loved working around IT (trying things out at home, own servers etc). If i were you id stick to development as your priority and do support in the meantime while development opportunities arise.

Ive done suppoort for approx 5 years now (in order of 1 and half years of Help desk level, 1 year deskside support, and the rest server support) and im getting fed up and i live IT. If it wasnt for the fact that i love IT (pc's) i would of walked ages ago.

 

[Mysterae]

Think carefully, ask anyone who has turned their hobby in to their job and they'll no doubt tell you that it's not their hobby any more.

I enjoy working on my car, but I wouldn't want to be a mechanic day in day out. I used to build pc's for folk, but they only wanted the cheapest kit and supporting their numbskull mistakes was a RPITA.

Finding something you are a) good at b) enjoy doing and c) get paid for doing, is the panacea for a good work life!

Go and watch some developer videos of Star Citizen and then the IT Crowd, and tell me what you'd rather be a part of. Okay, the IT Crowd was a bad example! "Have you tried turning it off and on again....".

 

[SPS]

I have worked in the industry so I am aware of what it takes to be somewhat successful.

Firstly, it seems that either you're not fully committed to games development or you're scared of it. One thing that game dev requires is some serious commitment and effort, so if you're really not sure that you want to do it, it's not for you. Secondly, there's no guarantee you'd even get into the industry as it is VERY hard to get your foot in the door but if you take a good enough degree-level course which teaches you how to code properly you can always fall back as a software developer.

From taking a look at the site, the games being made are very basic and it's going to take much longer to be of industry standard - for starters, Java is a baby language in the context of game dev, but then it also depends on what level you want to work at (low level, etc). There's still the option to make games as a hobby using Unity3D (or similar), these types of engines provide an easy way to make games.

Finally, I'd stay clear of tech support like most have already said. If you enjoy coding but game development is too much for you, go for software engineering or similar.