Need Career/Higher-Education advice. MBA to Soft.Development

[ahmedali]

Hi

Im 25, and in Pakistan, I started self-learning C++ at age of 15 because I wanted to develop games and internet told me thats how big guys do. So I learned many things along the way.

I hold a bachelor degree in Commerce I will be completing my MBA in Finance in 5 months, have a CGPA of 3.5. I lived a parallel life throught this time and have gained plenty of knowledge in diverse domains of game development as a hobby . How I joined MBA and why not took qualifications in computer science is lil complicated ...

I can get a good job and career after my MBA, but I just I asked my self what I want to do for rest of my life....

What I want...

Apply for studies abroad in a country with reasonable gamedev market.
Get a job, based on non-computer-science qualification and the gamedev related work I have done.
And get a Bachelor/Master qualification related to computer-science.

I dont know how it works or how it will work in my case but one of my friend suggested to look for Germany for "affordable" education, and if I can recall there are plenty of game companies there. I have looked into studies+work related matters for foreign students and other issues. Taking some consultancy agencies but they dont seem to get my gamedev part...

But I need to know if it can or how it will work? anyone from germany? Any alternatives?

[xavier]

Games are not about just programming. Someone needs to run the business, and you would be surprised at how many game studios fail because they are not run by businesspersons.

I don't know what the situation is with the Project Aftershock guys (nor do I know what relations Pakistan and Malaysia have at present), but that might be the best way to make use of your MBA -- find a small indie group with a promising product and see if they are interested in getting help productizing their efforts. A "suit" off the street causes concern for game developers, but if the "suit" is from the same community with the same mindset, then it could be a mutually beneficial fit.

I have to say, in the interviews I've done, "game schooling" is never what gets someone in the door -- you have to have done something (even if it's in your spare time) that shows (a) if you don't have "the chops" then you can at least develop them quickly, and (b) you have a genuine interest in the field.

So I wouldn't waste your time with more schooling at this point; one master's is enough (and with that you've possibly priced yourself out of entry-level positions, which is all you will be offered if you try to get in the front door of any game studio, since you don't have any "real-world" experience yet). Instead, I would recommend you try to leverage your MBA on the production side of the studio operations...and if you can manage to do so in an independent way, so much the better.