My housemate Sam (who is in California currently doing an internship) recently told me he was offered a job from EA. One of those dream jobs that little boys dream of as a game designer. He has to make a decision of whether he should return to Pittsburgh to finish his degree or stay out in California to start a new job, a new life. In both cases, he\’s losing something. He won\’t be guaranteed a job at EA if he returns to CMU and could be completely jobless. Of course, if he went to California, he would lose the opportunity for better jobs and lose a chance for a better education. And of course, he wouldn\’t be close to his girlfriend and his family located in New York.
It\’s decisions like these that make me wonder what I really want to do in life. I love HCI. Pretty much all of it. Working in teams to produce something that could better someone\’s life almost stealthy. Yet, sometimes I wonder if that\’s enough. I want to be someone who can create something that really touches people\’s emotions. I want to help people think differently and understand things. A writer. A screenwriter. An artist. Every time I attend a concert, I have this slight envy overcome me. I want to be the one on stage that can make people believe in things they never believed, feel emotions that they don\’t normally feel. That kind of power attracts me.
Writing comes naturally to me (as well as all my deep thinking). And I wonder who I would be today if it wasn\’t for that.
mmm, in the game biz, like most tech industries, it\’s hands-on xp > degrees any day of the week.
w/EA tho, it\’s risky if he\’s on a short-term prj, or worse, brought on as a temp. i wouldn\’t do it w/o a solid contract of full-time employment.
if you\’re a designer, it\’s work @110% for X amount of time, and then nada until the next prj, if there\’s a next prj…
if he\’s close to finishing, i\’d ask for to defer. if he\’s not, i\’d talk to cmu and his advisor and work out a safety to come back in case things don\’t pan out…