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Whether you’re a recent college graduate or ready for a career change, there’s never been a better time to pursue a career in gaming. The multi-billion dollar industry keeps growing, which means jobs are abundant if you have the right skills. Working in gaming is a dream job for many, and there are jobs available for people with all types of skills on the technical and creative side of the industry. Keep reading to learn about some of the most interesting careers currently up for grabs in the gaming industry.
Interesting Careers in the Gaming Industry
Game Developer
If you want a job at the heart of gaming, pursuing a job as a game developer may be the right choice for you. Developers are responsible for the most technical parts of gaming, including programming a game’s audio, visuals, and animations.
This job requires understanding the vision of a game’s creators and having the expertise to implement it. You’ll get to experiment with new ideas and put your talent to use across various gaming platforms, including PCs, consoles, and Android phones. Some of the most successful game developers are self-taught, although many pursue degrees in computer science to refine their skills.
Quality Assurance (QA)
You’ll need an eye for detail to succeed in this career, which is one of the most important in the video game industry. QA professionals, AKA video game testers, thoroughly test games before they’re released.
The role is varied, with the goal being to analyze how the game flows, its story, and its instructions to ensure that it works the way it should. QA professionals must also determine if the game has the intended effect on the audience.
Quality assurance is an excellent role for people with an entrepreneurial spirit interested in forming their own companies. If you get good at this job, you could launch a start-up and work for yourself as a video game tester.
Game Animator
If you want to use your creative side in a gaming career, a game animator job may interest you. As an animator, you’ll use specialized software to bring games to life, including the scenery, characters, objects, and surface textures.
The goal of an animator is to produce visuals and special effects that look as natural as possible. Some animation jobs are divided into 3D game animator and 2D animator jobs, allowing you to focus on the area that most interests you.
Artist
Gaming is all about visuals, which makes the role of artist one of the most important in the industry. This career is a good choice for anyone who has a talent for drawing. Artists create a game’s visual elements, including characters and settings. They’re involved in the preproduction and production phases of game development.
UI artists, texture artists, character designers, environment artists, art directors, and animators all fall under this job category. You’ll need art training, or you’ll have to attend art school to qualify for this position.
Technical Support Specialist
Do you live and breathe video games? If so, providing technical support to gamers could be the right career move for you. You’ll have to stay up to date on the latest games and know them inside out to succeed in this job.
Technical support specialists help customers experiencing problems while playing a video game and walk them through the steps to resolve them. Jobs in this career field are available in companies that produce games and those that make gaming systems.
You’ll need strong interpersonal skills and will communicate with customers using email, online chat, and phone calls.
Audio Engineer
Music is one of the most important aspects of a video game, helping to set the mood and signaling to players when something significant is about to happen. Audio engineers use specialized computers and audio equipment to make soundtracks and control how audio is used throughout a game.
Creating voices for characters, sound effects, and recording background music are all important parts of the job. They also edit and mix soundtracks in a way that creates an immersive experience for the player.
