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How should I prepare myself for a career in Game Development?
How should I prepare myself for a career in Game Development? I am currently an undergraduate Computer Science major and I am curious of the best way to set myself up for success in the job market. I have heard that internships, game projects, and game jams can help, but where should I focus my efforts? Thank you all so much! #Fall25
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Jamie’s Answer
Right now it's pretty tough in video game land.
Many studios have shuttered and there are a lot of people looking for work.
My hope is that this will change sooner rather than later, but for now 11/18/25... it's pretty bad.
I'm not a programmer / engineer so unfortunately I can't give a first-hand account of what you might do to prepare yourself in that arena.
On the art side (which I am) it's always good to have an "in" and know someone.
If you don't have an in somewhere then an internship might work. Back in the day that's how I started. (this was early 2000s)
I would say check out glassdoor.com. That site has reviews from people who have actually worked at various studios. So you'll get a good idea if you should even pursue that particular job.
Some internships are better than others... some companies are WAY better than others.
Congrats on your upcoming graduation and I wish you all the luck in the world!
Many studios have shuttered and there are a lot of people looking for work.
My hope is that this will change sooner rather than later, but for now 11/18/25... it's pretty bad.
I'm not a programmer / engineer so unfortunately I can't give a first-hand account of what you might do to prepare yourself in that arena.
On the art side (which I am) it's always good to have an "in" and know someone.
If you don't have an in somewhere then an internship might work. Back in the day that's how I started. (this was early 2000s)
I would say check out glassdoor.com. That site has reviews from people who have actually worked at various studios. So you'll get a good idea if you should even pursue that particular job.
Some internships are better than others... some companies are WAY better than others.
Congrats on your upcoming graduation and I wish you all the luck in the world!
Updated
Kirthi’s Answer
Hey Kian,
I work in Cybersecurity engineering here at Verizon. It’s a totally different beast than gaming, but I went to school with a ton of guys who tried to break into the Game Dev industry. I’ve seen what worked for them and what didn't.
The biggest thing you need to realize is that the Game Industry is the most competitive sector in tech. Everyone wants to make games, so studios can be picky.
Here is where you should focus, from an "enterprise" guy looking in:
1. Finish things (Game Jams are huge) In my world, if a project isn't perfect, we delay it. In gaming, you have hard deadlines. Studios want to see that you can actually ship. A lot of CS majors have 10 half-finished Unity projects on their hard drive. That counts for nothing. Participate in Game Jams (like Global Game Jam). It forces you to scope a project down and actually finish it in 48-72 hours. A portfolio with 3 small, finished, playable games is worth way more than one "massive RPG" that crashes on the title screen.
2. Don't rely on the engine alone I interview CS grads who know Unity or Unreal, but they don't know how memory management actually works. If you want to be a serious gameplay programmer or engine dev, you need to understand C++ deeply. In Security, we look for memory leaks and buffer overflows to exploit them. in Gaming, those same leaks destroy your frame rate. Show that you understand the low-level code, not just the drag-and-drop editor.
3. Pick a specific lane "Game Developer" is too broad. The students who got hired right out of college were the ones who said "I specialize in Shader programming" or "I focus on Network Replication for multiplayer." Find a niche. If you are good at math/physics, lean into that. If you like backend, focus on server-side game logic.
4. My Personal Backup Plan Look, I love games, but the industry burns people out. Long hours, "crunch" time, and sometimes lower pay than enterprise jobs. Keep your general CS skills (Linux, Networking, Python) sharp. If you burn out on gaming after 3 years, those skills are your parachute to land a stable, high-paying job at a place like Verizon or a bank.
Build a portfolio on GitHub or Itch.io. Don't just tell them you can code, show them.
Best of luck with the degree.
I work in Cybersecurity engineering here at Verizon. It’s a totally different beast than gaming, but I went to school with a ton of guys who tried to break into the Game Dev industry. I’ve seen what worked for them and what didn't.
The biggest thing you need to realize is that the Game Industry is the most competitive sector in tech. Everyone wants to make games, so studios can be picky.
Here is where you should focus, from an "enterprise" guy looking in:
1. Finish things (Game Jams are huge) In my world, if a project isn't perfect, we delay it. In gaming, you have hard deadlines. Studios want to see that you can actually ship. A lot of CS majors have 10 half-finished Unity projects on their hard drive. That counts for nothing. Participate in Game Jams (like Global Game Jam). It forces you to scope a project down and actually finish it in 48-72 hours. A portfolio with 3 small, finished, playable games is worth way more than one "massive RPG" that crashes on the title screen.
2. Don't rely on the engine alone I interview CS grads who know Unity or Unreal, but they don't know how memory management actually works. If you want to be a serious gameplay programmer or engine dev, you need to understand C++ deeply. In Security, we look for memory leaks and buffer overflows to exploit them. in Gaming, those same leaks destroy your frame rate. Show that you understand the low-level code, not just the drag-and-drop editor.
3. Pick a specific lane "Game Developer" is too broad. The students who got hired right out of college were the ones who said "I specialize in Shader programming" or "I focus on Network Replication for multiplayer." Find a niche. If you are good at math/physics, lean into that. If you like backend, focus on server-side game logic.
4. My Personal Backup Plan Look, I love games, but the industry burns people out. Long hours, "crunch" time, and sometimes lower pay than enterprise jobs. Keep your general CS skills (Linux, Networking, Python) sharp. If you burn out on gaming after 3 years, those skills are your parachute to land a stable, high-paying job at a place like Verizon or a bank.
Build a portfolio on GitHub or Itch.io. Don't just tell them you can code, show them.
Best of luck with the degree.