Should I Leave Grad School for a Career in Game Development?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the participant's contemplation of leaving graduate school to pursue a career in game development. It explores personal interests in programming, particularly in game design, and the perceived dissatisfaction with current graduate studies and research assistantship roles.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • The original poster expresses a growing interest in game programming and dissatisfaction with their current graduate studies and research assistantship, suggesting a desire to transition to the game development industry.
  • One participant advises developing a portfolio by creating games or mods to demonstrate experience in game development.
  • Another participant questions the rationale behind quitting graduate school when the original poster is close to completion, suggesting it may be unwise to leave when they are almost done.
  • A similar sentiment is echoed by another participant, emphasizing the importance of persistence in graduate school despite waning interest.
  • Another participant requests clarification on how far along the original poster is in their graduate program, indicating a need for context in the discussion.
  • The original poster responds that they are a couple of weeks into their second semester and expect to graduate by the end of next summer or next fall.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether the original poster should leave graduate school for game development. Some advocate for completing the program, while others support exploring opportunities in game development.

Contextual Notes

The discussion lacks detailed information about the original poster's specific goals in game development and the potential implications of leaving graduate school at this stage.

fizziks
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I have recently taken up a bigger interest in programming (mainly C++/C video/PC game programming). I was very impartial to programming until I took this game programming elective. I'm losing interest very fast in graduate school (in my courses, except the graduate game programming class, and my RA position). My RA position is about designing web applications for a company + some web application development research. I THOUGHT I would like to do this but it turns out to be very dull and boring. It feels I rather be creating programs I can understand (PC/video games) instead of abstract business/web applications.

I really want to get into the game development industry, despite it being extremely volatile and unstable, but it seems to be the thing I rather spend the rest of my time in. I'm not looking for a top paying job. If it's at a place where I don't mind going 5 days a week for 8-10 hours, I could really care less about the pay, as long as it covers the basic bills.

Should I start looking for entry level jobs in the game industry and just drop this whole graduate school thing? And in this industry that can give me some insight?
 
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Develop a portfolio. Have you made any games? Mods? Flash games? Java games? Programmed with opengl or direct X? They can certainly help show you have experience.
 
Why do people quit, when they lose interest. If your in GRAD school your almost done, stick with it for the remaning years. No point of quiting when your so close
 
th3plan said:
Why do people quit, when they lose interest. If your in GRAD school your almost done, stick with it for the remaning years. No point of quiting when your so close

Years are pretty long. Is it wise to continue doing something I have some/little interest in for such a time?
 
I think you need to make clear how far you're into grad school. How many semesters have you covered so far?
 
Defennder said:
I think you need to make clear how far you're into grad school. How many semesters have you covered so far?

I'm couple weeks into my 2nd semester as a MS in CE. I'm expected to graduate by the end of next summer or next fall.
 

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