Computer engineer to a software developer?

[kyuN]

I have a degree in B.S. Computer Engineering w/ focus in networking, and after helping my little brother with his capstone project in game design at his school, I somewhat wanted to make a game of my own. Consequently, I purchased Gamemaker during Steam Sale and finished all of their tutorials, and I don't think I've slept/eaten for DAYS.

Now, I'm not suggesting that I hate my current job. I might jump into the game industry, but I'm not sure if it's a viable option or even something to consider.

At my college, I studied some computer science topics, including:

Accelerated Intro. to Programming (from the basics to objects using Java)
Data Structures and Algorithms (from arrays to hash tables using Java and C)
Game Design/Programming (from collision detection to a full game creation in Javascript)
Algorithms and ADTs (linked lists, trees, heapsort, graphs, and other sorts in Java and C)
Advanced Programming (from data abstraction to polymorphism using C++)
Operating Systems
Interactive Narrative (game studies/theory)

and have taken up to vector calculus, probability, and differential equations regarding math, with a full year of physics. I know Java, C/C++, and Javascript, and have made a full game in Javascript before. The only game engines I'm familiar with are Impact.js, Creation Kit, and Unity.

What else can I do to ensure that I have a good shot to shift my career to the software side of things? Do I have a chance to get into the software industry? Merci beaucoup for your opinions.

 

[chiro]

Hey kyuN.

If you want to get into the games industry, I would like to suggest a few points.

The first point is that you will be up against people who live and breathe it to a point where it comes their life seven days a week.

The second point is that you are going to be paid peanuts relative to the amount of work you do.

The third point relates to job security: projects get canned and people lose their jobs. In other words, the industry can be really volatile and its dependent on a tonne of factors.

The fourth point is that you will need to really know your stuff technically: It took me about eight to ten years to become good enough so that I could navigate massive code bases and dissect the kind of complex code you find in a game engine.

The above are just some points you should think about amongst others and my comments above are based on my own experiences with games design and programming (of which I dedicated a large portion of my past to).