So I’ve worked in IT for around 18 years now and in that time I’ve worked for 2 gaming companies, I started my most recent a year ago, but I’m wondering if I should just jump ship for the tech industry again, I’m now waiting for the layoffs in our business unit. I’m an immigrant living on a work permit and losing my job will mean losing the life I’ve made for myself over the last 4 years, and that terrifies me.
I used to love the company I work for but now I’m wondering if it’s worth it anymore.
Hi.
Ex game dev here who jumped ship and is now doing VR training stuff for a big medical company.
I don’t regret it one bit. You definitely lose some of the spirit and excitement of working with people who are super excited to make the fun games they grew up playing, but on the flip side, if you’ve been in the industry long enough to have 18 years under your belt, you’ve probably had enough of that excitement to see the bad sides of it.
By far the nicest thing about being in an industry that isn’t entertainment is that the success of the “product” you’re making is so much easier to define than “is this fun” or “will this help playing retention”. I can’t describe how nice it is to have actual users instead of players, and UX’ers who to come tell me what people want. Sure, it might not be as fun as games, but to be honest, I’m OK with that. I get vastly better pay, better work life balance, and most importantly, a complete lack of any kind of game director whose vision I must try to make real.