EXPLORING GAMING INDUSTRY CAREERS

A cursory review of options and opportunities for young gamers who are thinking about turning their passion into a career.

Surveying a huge, competitive, and rapidly changing industry in a relatively brief series entry is no small challenge. The authors divide their work into six main chapters, covering an overview of the gaming industry’s origins, programming and engineering roles, creative careers, jobs related to the development and post-production aspects of games, professional gaming, and ways of breaking into the industry. Due to the sheer number and variety of possible career paths, the qualifications range all over the map from simple raw talent and an extraordinary work ethic for aspiring professional gamers to formal education from high school diploma to MBA for the rest. The authors offer more detailed descriptions for select occupations, including average salaries, but much of the advice is applicable to preparing for careers in any field (for example, networking, interning, volunteering, and developing good communication and teamwork skills). The book’s positive tone is supported by stock photos of smiling, racially diverse people. Text boxes cover topics such as the marginalization of women in the gaming industry, concerns about the use of AI, and the gamification of military training. While this work barely scratches the surface, it may encourage readers to explore further on their own.

A basic introduction to a popular field.