I read your job-hunting story and I thought at first, that it's going to have a bad end/an end where you still didn't get a position, but fortunately you have been accepted by a company even though the job is not related to what you studied in college. I still wish you good time there! ^-^
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Thanks for the kind words! I did think about making a discussion about my job-hunting troubles, until I was offered a job. Things went up from there, thankfully.
Thanks for reading! <3
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Wow. You suceeded! It was different than what you expected, but too few things go as we want them too. So cheer up! ^_^
As for me, I still have one year of university before I start job hunting, and I am already worried when I think about it. But no need to worry excessively, right~?
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Worrying is a natural part of the process, I think. Just goes to show that you care enough to worry about it. :D Still, no need to beat yourself up while you aren't there yet. Things will definitely work out with some persistence and hard work!
Good luck with university and thanks for reading! <3
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Nice read, but I ended up feeling that I'd like more details, like what you studied and what you ended up working at.
Anyway, I'm glad that you found a job, and hope that you enjoy it.
As for what you studied vs. what you're doing, I'd say that the question is whether what you studied is what you want to work at. Forget whether it's a waste of not, that's behind you and you can't change the past. The question is only how happy you'd be at the job you're now at vs. one more related to what you studied. It also depends on what kind of person you are. Some people are perfectly okay doing a job that's merely okay, as long as it brings in the money to do other things they like more. Other people will be miserable if they don't love their job.
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Post has been updated, since you people wanted more!
I'm pretty happy with the job I'm at right now, but I can't exactly compare it with a job related to what I studied since I haven't landed one of those yet. Still, I'm honestly fine with my work now. It's a different story when I hear about what my friends are doing now, though. I sometimes feel like I drew the short end of the stick, since they landed jobs more related to our field. Still, I push those thoughts away and let the hustle and bustle of work take over.
Thanks for reading! <3
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Thanks for the update. Got to say I envy you for having both programming and art skills. That's handy for indie game development. I'm pretty shit at art.
Though I can't see myself doing something other than programming for a job, I have to say that there are tons of totally boring programming jobs that I'd rather not do, so it's entirely possible that you got a good deal there. :) Also, while any programming experience is good, a lot of it won't be directly applicable to game development, so such jobs won't necessarily advance your quest for game development much.
If you really want to be a game developer, I'd suggest that you develop games in your free time. That would be a sure way to get relevant experience. Also, I think it's good that you studied computer science, as that should give you the tools to understand the more complex topics and perhaps do things which you wouldn't have been able to do well without your studies.
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Well, we all start somewhere! I do have plans on reading game dev materials during my spare time. I've saved up a lot of content and bookmarks to check out when I can. It would have been really nice if we had a game development subject, like some other colleges here. But hey, at least I've got some background in programming now, right? It'll definitely help out!
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I have no idea what game development in college really teaches, but I'm sure you'll be able to learn what you need. I think that the best thing is just to think of a game you want to develop and try making it, or write a mod for an existing game.
You can just follow some of the courses in this topic, or this Groupees bundle. Not saying that these are the best courses to take, it's just a good way to get an initial working game and understanding of what that involves.
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Learning is never a waste. Whether you use the knowledge you acquired or the tools you got while in school, you'll get your money worth eventually. Trust me. I went to business school, hated it and ended up working in various unrelated jobs. Now I 'mdoing something I love rather than do something boring for more money. Still I have a business of my own and I use things I learned in school every day.
Life is funny that way. Nothing you do is wasted. Things go round and round in the big tumbler of life and they'll bounce off you one of these days, probably when you expect it least.
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Thanks for that! I'm glad you found something you love to do! One day I'll be able to say that with pride, too!
Thanks for the kind words and for reading! <3
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Grats on discovering that your college degree is useless. Of course most people only learn this when it's too late but hey, that's the system. Now you get to be bitter about it and vote democrat so they can tax you higher rates now so that more future generations won't get proper education funding because the politicians pocket and waste it all, ensuring more students turn out like you and vote democrat!
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Sounds like a vicious cycle, hahaha! I'll just do my best to break out of that cycle, so that one day I can think that it was all worth it in the end.
Thanks for reading! <3
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Congratulation and I hope you have fun exploring your job as a graphic artist!
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Thanks, and I'll do my best to keep having fun!
Thanks for taking the time to read! <3
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Congrats!
And... We all have our stories, and their ARE ours. If you are enjoying and learning, and happy were you are, there it is. Not all paths are straightforward, and shouldn't be. As Lennon said, sometimes life is that thing that happen while we are making other plans.
Enjoy, learn, have fun, and when you are not having fun anymore, it is ok to move on...
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Thanks for the kind words! I'll definitely do my best to enjoy and learn. When I feel like I can't grow anymore, well I guess it's time to jump on to the next platform.
Thank you for reading! <3
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Maybe I should have done that, now that I think about it. I guess I just didn't want to come off as presumptuous. But I guess they wouldn't blame me for wanting to know the results, huh. I'll keep that in mind!
Thanks for reading! <3
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My job hunting story..? I couldn't afford college, so I was automatically screwed. I didn't get a job until I was eighteen, working at a fast food place where the manager took pity on me because I had no prior job experience beyond a paper route when I was a pre-teen. I was fired six months later because a teenage co-worker decided to vandalize some store property one night and blamed me for it, since I was the most recent hire at the time. Because the teenager worked there longer than I did, the manager didn't ask any questions and simply fired me over the phone. And because I live in a very small tight-knit community, no one else will hire me. It's been ten years now, ten years of filling out job applications every week, I'm nearly thirty years old and I still haven't gotten a job. I have no driver's license or the money to buy a car to get a job somewhere outside of walking distance, there are no bus lines in my city and I have no money to move to a new city.
Sorry if you thought that this post was going to be something uplifting. Reading everyone else's comments touched a nerve.
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Damn, I'm really sorry to hear that. Sorry that I got on your nerves like that. There's not much I can say either, but good luck! Maybe freelance writing can help you out? I know a friend of mine who earned money that way, but I don't know a lot of details so I can't really help out much.
Hopefully sharing your story helped ease your burden a little bit. Thank you very much for sharing and reading! <3
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Thank you very much for the words and for reading! <3
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I wish you a good luck in your bright future. The experience you're getting now will be the base for your future work.
In my country where youngsters are much fewer than the other generations, it's pretty easy to find a job. Companies are desperately seeking for human resource, otherwise they will be bankrupt. You can choose easy job with low payment or hard job with high payment. Yes you can choose as you like, as long as you don't care the future of the country XD
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Hahaha! It's good to know that finding work there isn't that tough, but someone needs to take those jobs and keep everything balanced.
Thanks for reading! <3
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Glad to know you made it! Keep up the good work.
Thank you for reading! <3
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Thank you for sharing your story. Job hunting is a painful topic, of course. I don't have much experience for a good advices, but if, as you said, you are happy on your current work, and this work has something in common with what you have studied, I think this is a great place to start your career. So best of luck on your new job! And I hope that your dream will come true, and someday we will play a game made by you :)
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Thanks! It'll take a while, but I'll definitely work towards game development.
Thanks for reading! <3
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For those who've read through already, there's an update waiting for you at the bottom. :D
Alright people, buckle up your safety belts for a long ride. If you've got your cup of tea, coffee, cocoa, or whatever, then sit here by the campfire for a little bit of storytelling.
Quite honestly, I have little to no idea about how to start this. It's been ages since I've put together a bunch of paragraphs like this. I had planned to write down a draft and refine it from there, but I couldn't really do it since I was rather busy. Which brings us to the reason why I'm so busy:
Job-hunting.
So I recently graduated from college near the end of March (The graduation ceremony was held the day after my real life birthday, yay!). As early as April, I began my job-hunting. Some people told me I was rushing things, saying I had to enjoy my down time before I start finally working. But you know how it is when you've got plenty of time to think and a slightly pessimistic way of thinking. My parents were working, and my brother was reviewing for his licensure exam. Meanwhile, I was spending my days just lazing about. I felt like I was just being useless, so on began the hunt for work.
So I registered for different job-hunting websites, passed my resume to different companies, sent e-mails, and so on. At least doing those things provided a bit of comfort, since I was taking steps toward landing a job. I got replies from a few companies and even moved on to exams and interviews. There was this company a classmate and I planned to apply at after graduating, and so we did. We took the exam, but only one of us made it in, it seems.
And it wasn't me.
Don't get me wrong, I'm really proud of my friend since he made it in. Right now he's going through a really tough workshop to land a regular position. I'm cheering him on in my own little way. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I even tried to apply for a different position at the same company, but nada. It took a while to accept it, but I decided I had to keep moving forward.
So on I applied. Went through more exams and interviews. There was this one company I had high hopes for. It was in the same area as where my friend would start working. I was called for an interview, and I went to their office. It was just glorious, I tell you. It had such a professional vibe, and my only thought at the time was:
"It would be amazing if I could work here."
The interview went well (at least in my opinion), and I was feeling pretty good. I explored a lot that day, treated myself to a book, and went home feeling awesome. I was told that they'd contact me about the results in 1-2 weeks. Either by call or by e-mail. I was feeling pretty happy about everything, until a week passed. No calls or messages. I kept hoping for a reply, but even until now I haven't heard anything from them.
Felt like I was back at square one all over again. Thankfully, family and friends were there to cheer me up. I appreciate the concern, but words can only do so much to help a mind that feels like it's never going to be enough. So I still kept going about applying.
Soon enough, I got a hit.
A company I applied at offered me a position. I'd be on a probationary position for 1-6 months, and salary would increase based on performance. Sounds good, right? But there's just one catch.
It's not completely related to what I studied in college. Just barely.
Although I really didn't mind that much. To put it into words, I guess I have this passive attitude towards things. I didn't mind learning something new. I just sometimes think that if I don't use what I studied for 4 years in college, it would have been a waste. Still, I convinced myself that I'd be able to use that knowledge later on, as well as the knowledge I'd receive in the job I was offered.
So I took the job. I didn't want to feel like crap again because I just sat at home facing my computer all day, searching for a good job. Yesterday marks the first month I spent working there. It's a small achievement, but it means a lot to me. I'm honestly having fun, despite all my previous thoughts. Sure, it's 6 days a week. But the hustle and bustle in the company as well as the people make things fun. I'm slowly getting closer to my co-workers, and I'm learning a lot of things as I go.
At this point, I don't even know why I wrote all this. I'm no longer sure if it was a rant, or I just wanted someone to listen to my story. Still, I wrote it and you read it (hopefully). Thanks for that, it means a lot to me. So I think it's my turn to listen to you, people. Care to share your job hunting stories and experiences? Or your thoughts on job hunting? Doesn't matter, I'll read them (when I can, of course).
With the story done and your cup empty, it's time to put out the campfire. May the days to come be amazing ones for us all.
Once again, thanks for reading. Here's a little gib to serve as a token of appreciation.
Thank you.
UPDATE: So people have been asking for more details, and I'm glad people are interested. I kind of thought I'd leave out certain details to make it a general topic for more people to relate to, but I don't mind giving a few more details. If you want a bit more, then read on!
So I'm a Computer Science graduate. I honestly didn't decide right from the get-go that I'd want to be a programmer, but I thought it was the closest program I could take to become a game developer (At least from the programs offered by the college). Yep, I've wanted to create my own games for a looooong time. I've tried my hand at RPGMaker and Ren'py so far, but I do plan on trying some more.
Anyway, as you'd expect, I would try out my hand at applying for a programming position. I've tried applying as a Associate Software Engineer, Software Engineer, Programmer Trainee, Mobile Applications Developer, Web Developer, and so on. I even applied for internships, hoping to get some experience under my belt.
The position I landed is a Graphic Artist. I figured it would help me in web development as well as photo-editing (which it does), which is why I took the job. To top it off, I'll need to deal with graphics when I try my hand at making games, too. I'm learning a lot of stuff at this point, and I'm having fun while I'm at it. :D
Really glad you all read through everything, and even wanted more! Thank you so much! <3
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