I asked 100 gamedevs if a degree is worth it

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

This topic always makes me feel so old lol, there was no such thing as "Game Dev" degrees when I was going to college. Personally I tried going to college (twice!) but never managed to finish it, the way college works really did not mesh well with how my brain worked at the time. In general, a good Computer Science degree is probably worth it, something Game Dev/Design specific is probably going to vary wildly depending on who is teaching. For working in AAA as a programmer they probably value a nice degree, for getting a Publisher to fund your indie game then a portfolio/good demo is going to be more important. Networking is definitely one of the biggest benefits, plenty of successful indie teams started because people met in a game dev school. One recent example is Jonas Tyroller, I'm pretty sure he just made Thronefall (huge hit) with one of his college buddies. I hope you enjoyed Gamescom! I'd love to try going someday.

[@woobilicious.]

Highly recommend a local game dev meetup before spending a lot on a degree. My local University doesn't have a game-dev degree, but a great comp sci degree (if as you say, are compatible with it), But we do have a local game dev meetup!

[@TYNEPUNK]

the legend has spoken, man I love you!..thanks for many good tuts.

[@TYNEPUNK]

I started coding as a kid, thought I knew it all, went to uni realised I did not. The pressure to live up to how good I thought I was pushed me not to go to lectures but to continually use the language (Java) we were being taugtht. I spent months and months coding Java and no one else did. I made alot of the lectures and it opened my eyes. After that worked in the industry. Then went freelance. I guess in last 20 yrs of freelancing I must have got 10x better. Self learning is the best but uni can give you the kick in the right direction if you are lacking it.

[@grootvriend]

To add to the, 'why you should go to a gamedev school' it can teach you things you don't know you should learn or are less motivated to learn.

[@RealCoachMustafa]

I have a Bachelors in Media Arts and Science, and I would probably be further into my career if I just stayed home and made games on my own.

[@Rogue-ish-k2h]

to those asking themselves - I think it really depends. I want to add this point, I would say /most/ of us who just graduate from high school most likely don’t know ourselves SO perfectly well as to jump right into a lifetime of debt (US costing 100k+). I think it’s very healthy to go out into the world for a bit before making a choice like this, if cost is a huge factor. And equally, I think everyone should also be open to trying things to see how it feels, even if that’s a semester at an expensive school. But keeping this in mind is also wise - everything is possible without paying this much for school. Even networking. I started at Gnomon at age 21 after community college and was totally immersed in a new world, loved every second of Los Angeles and the community of brilliant artists on that campus, but quickly realized 3D wasn’t my thing (at that age lol). So I switched gears. I finished my undergrad in fine arts instead, taught art and English in Germany, and now work a 9-5 doing underwriting. 10+ years later, actually, through all this broad life and work experience, I managed to develop a very technical work ethic that I didn’t have at 21, and am approaching 3D and game development with this applied work ethic, technical skill set, and self drive. I just think there are no right or wrong answers. Do what feels most right for you.. because only you know yourself best, at least the version of yourself that you are now. And even then, we don’t really /know/ until we are in a situation that informs us otherwise! so go try things! Journal, visit schools, try to learn on your own, see what feels good! ☺️ I

[@Adamocg]

The best reason I've seen for having a degree is visa's. A lot of game studios are most likely outside of most peoples home countries and having a degree really helps to secure a visa if you want to work in certain countries.

[@mnap1595]

This "series" was great. Thanks for putting it together. 7:18 Having gone to school for a degree in Computer Science, I'd say I agree with this about 80%. There is definitely SO MUCH information available to you now online. However, topics are covered far more in depth in a university setting, and it's much easier to get GOOD answers to questions when you can ask someone with real world experience than hoping you found a good answer from some random person on some random website. The common takeaways I got from individuals in your other video were: "Portfolio is king" and university is best for networking with other individuals, which is unfortunate if true because that's an expensive way to make connections (at least here in the USA).

[@pgryan1057]

The fact that you went through all of this to present this is appreciatable... Also learned a lot, thanks 🙏🙏, good day to all ✋✋

[@joppemin]

Have a bachelors in game programming (and college degree in game art), honestly the only things that benefited me about it is knowing I wouldn't have the perseverance to keep learning as well as it helps if you want to work outside of your home country, where sometimes a bachelors degree is required to be considered a work visa.

[@cinamynj]

Since I was 18 (29 now), going to university has been a dream for me and seeing all these videos about people saying “waste of time” “don’t do it” Just majorly depresses me. Y’all abuse the luck you’re blessed with

[@bonehelm]

Best video you've made so far. Great job!

[@Surkk2960]

Might as well add this here. I have a Bachelor's degree in Game Development and Simulation Technology with high honors... and I got noting out of it. I did the work, I read the books, I made sure everything was near perfect even though I'm prone to procrastination and the end result was honestly empty promises. No networks, no friends, not even help from the school to find a job in the career, just $40K in debt and trapped in a low end "temporary" job that had nothing to do with my goals. Thankfully the debt was released for me, but I am still in a worse state since I won't get that almost 8 years worth of time back I could have used to figure it out myself. I don't think going to college for a degree in coding is bad, just make sure the college you go to will *actually help you* make it to where you want to go. Don't be a failure like me.

[@Pu55y-Magnet]

Just got to keep pushing man, you’ll get there at one point, no point to look at the past when you can’t change it.

[@Cyngus1088]

My Associates degree from community college took me from 0 to 1, extremely valuable.

[@Jalecko]

Great video, myself i am in my 3rd year of hbo ict and i feel like its the best choice ever and im learning now to become a systems developer and doing gamedev on the side. Learning to becoming a systems developer has allowed me to learn a lot of good programming principles and the ability to develop game engines

[@krum3155]

I've been making games for about 5 years next to highschool and I consider getting a gamedev degree because I feel like it can fill a ton of the gaps in knowledge which I'm pretty certain I have. If you don't know what you don't know you can't search it.

[@GameDevRaven]

krum I would like to see your games, I myself am not too good in Unity, within time I could be but, it feels a little clubber sum to me....I pay attention to work flow and how I feel when I develop.... we Need to support Good cheap Company or even good company's rather then just the Free Company's, best of luck

[@godspeargames]

I agree with your conclusion! The answer I gave in the video was definitely biased because of Belgium and DAE. It's not something I would recommend to everyone in any situation. In fact, I would ONLY recommend it to people from Belgium who can go to DAE. Great video, as usual ;-)

[@SPAC3R4IDRGAMES]

It's a great idea to have this discussion! I agree with most of what you said in the video. I think that getting a degree is worth it based on your personal goals, budget, and what you want to do as a game dev. Also building a network is really important in creative fields. I went to school for something creative and I believe you will get results based on the amount of learning you do and the size of the portfolio you build while you are in school. If your personal goal is to work for an already established game dev studio I believe with the school degree AND an impressive portfolio you are much more likely to be considered. I think only having the degree and no game portfolio would be worse than just having a portfolio you taught yourself. So if you do get a degree in game dev my personal suggestion is to spend as much free time as possible building a portfolio that showcases how you applied what you learned. Now if you want to be a solo dev I say just open unity and start learning you can still build your portfolio and apply to big studios if you wish in the future or you can release your game on your own. Either way definitely network over the internet to make friends and save every bit of game development you have done in a portfolio.

[@KasperDevUnity]

Here is my take. It highly depends on your country or your family's wealth. The Scandinavian countries it is free to go to college or university you are even paid by the state when you are a student. So if you live in a country where college and university is free or your family is very wealthy I would say it is worth it. As you are put into a environment that forces you to learn, and the specific assignments has a timeline on it which will help you with time management. You'll also be surrounded by other people who are interested in game development and it creates a nice community. But I will 100% agree that you do not need one. If you live in a country like USA where University or College is very expensive I would not recommend it, if you have to go into debt don't do it. You can learn just as much from just watching KZbin videos or reading different blocks for free. I took a computer science degree and afterwards a bachelor in software development that was based on game development. The computer science degree where you learn all the basics I would say that was definitely worth it "however I would probably not have taken it if I had to go into debt". The Bachelor in software development was a waste of time for game development experience in my opinion. My conclusion does it help yes is it needed no.

[@tobiasmyers3505]

Wow. Interesting. Thank you.

[@welcomelittlefellow]

Interesting video. To add my two cents to one of the statements. As you said you can gain all technical skills without an education, however having an education does allow you to grasp a good understanding of basic concepts like data structures, networking, declarative / imperative programming, database design et cetera. Learning this without an education might steer you more towards the practical applications of these concepts like frameworks or libraries. This is not wrong but in the long run it’s easier to gain more specific knowledge with a good basic concept foundation.

[@bruceburnett5372]

Love your Dev vids. Common sense advice..NICE! Started dev..Unreal5.2, Finding it interesting, and hard.Been working in film...but not right now. Life long artist who thought I would give it a go. And so far, I like. Thanks for the reality slice and a heads up on what to expect.ATB.

[@DevDunkStudio]

I think it can be beneficial, but the same can be achieved without. In some countries it's easier to do a 4 year study than doing it solo 4 years. I do also think studies can give a broader foundation and point you in the right direction, potentially saving you time if you do it yourself

[@philberex]

Fellow Belgian GameDev! Awesome video. Thank You

[@mellowmind_dev]

Interesting video! Personally, I am studying Game Production & Management and I think it is very useful if you know how to use it. In the end it all depends on how much afford you want to put in your career, but if you combine general Project Management with something game related (such as my degree) I believe you are very well set up to even pursue your career in other industries as well. But in my case it is very cheap, since I am paying less than 200€/year just for the study itself. Of course there are living expenses etc. but you have those with basically any other study anyways.

[@dapex_]

Very good Perspective and insight. I appreciate the video.

[@Rai2M]

Standard: bachelor's degree OR two years of experience. + strong portfolio (no amount of degrees would help you w/o it)

[@occupationalhazard]

I'm not 100% certain, but I get the impression potential employers have held my education *against* me. Maybe they assume I'd ask for more money? I have a BS in Computer Science and an MS in Information Systems.

[@sealsharp]

We've seen the numbers when california forced gamedev companies to share what their devs earn. Like Blizzard pays 50k for jobs that would pay 200k in the "uncool" fields. Maybe some employers do assume that your CS degree and your masters mean you can't be lowballed into sleeping in a van on the parking lot.

[@lucasfranke5161]

In some countries that's legally required, if you have a degree you automatically get a higher salary floor

[@TorchdriveIndustries]

Do you want to get hired by a AAA, do you want to build a specific skill, or do you want to make a game? Does AAA even care about a degree, or do they care more about you being able to present a portfolio/examples of your skill? If the type of place you want to work at requires a degree, then get a degree. If you want to build a specific skill, taking a course or few and building that specific skill is probably going to be cheaper and far quicker. If you want to make a game, then just get started making a game, preferably while you're doing something else (for now). I'm 4 years into my own game and no skill I've needed has required a degree, only practice and online resources. I'd suggest people really think about what they want to do and what is actually needed to achieve it.

[@32poppasavage28]

4 years in? What kind of game are you making?

[@TorchdriveIndustries]

@@32poppasavage28 A space 4x. A good portion of that was the learning process and rewriting things. It is a bit more complicated than other games in the genre though, being fully simulated rather than greatly abstracted.

[@MufaddalMurtaza-yu4jd]

​@@TorchdriveIndustriesdo you have a degree??

[@tuqa2195]

I wanna be able to develop a game at my own in the future and I'm confused between studying cs or gaming design . i saw the program for the gaming design major and I feel that I must learn coding at my own if I got into it

[@AbacusAxolotyl]

I think it depends on the person as well as the institution. My university doesn’t really teach us anything, but has unparalleled industry connections and provides us with licenses for expensive software. It’s also a community - there’s lots of extra-curricular activities to get involved with AND il currently employed at the university. Student loans also mean I can spend more time learning and less time earning. I live in the UK, so I appreciate it’s much cheaper to do university here than elsewhere.

[@nextos]

Have a game dev degree and work in game dev. I think it is a waste of money for learning and jobs. Worth the money to find a lot of people with the same very very specific interests and quirks as you. I had never had so many extremely close friends before or since that degree and overall was a very positive experience. But a complete waste of time if you just want a job

[@VictorHugo-tk5gr]

Spanish is my mother language and going to an institute to learn English helped me much more than my college degree just bacause the gamedev industry moves mainly in English, in addition you can find way much more leaning content than in Spanish.

[@ggezscrub-ef7cs]

i know alot of people from the previous university i dropped out of are getting jobs from the professors or making teams themselves. its the best tech school in my country so its a given. for someone like me, the only thing that i benefit from school is discipline because if i hold my own time im sure as hell never get anything done, that and more options of my career even if i dont end up as game dev im probably still valued in other small or low end tech jobs and art/animation at the same time by just having a really flexible degree. so yea in conclusion, if you're there to learn, you're gonna spend majority of your time learning by yourself unless you ask for help with your peers that knows what they're doing as well. but if you're there for the sake of having a degree, i think it's flexible enough that you can get alot of different jobs and just build your portfolio accordingly, 4 years is still a long time and in that timeframe you can get alot of experience and networking than without a degree and 4 years of working at boring day jobs tbh.

[@BungieStudios]

Same thing in IT. Certs and experience get you in the door. Degrees get you the promotions and pay raises, but they won't get you the job by themselves. Absolutely, you can learn on your own and work on your own and make money on your own. But if you are going to be an employee, you gotta play the game and weigh the trade-offs between the two. I would say learn first, build a resume/portfolio, accumulate experience, put money away, and then go to school so you can advance and more easily job hop. After your associates, school assignments get ridiculously easy. I was working, studying, and helping my wife with her bachelor's and later master's at the same time.

[@BungieStudios]

You can build networks at work and by pursuing your own related hobbies too. You don't have to pay for school just to network.

[@accretionstudios8568]

I think there is nothing wrong with getting a degree, but I also don't think it's necessary. At the end the goal is the same, but you have to chose the path that will serve you best.

[@KuittheGeek]

I think, like most things, the answer is always "It depends." But I would definitely agree with you Marnix on this one. If you can go for a cheap price, and there are already incentives/jobs available at the end, then it makes sense if you know that's what you want to do. But the bills still have to get paid. So my personal biased advice (because this is what I am doing), is to get a degree in something that you can use to pay the bills, in an industry that has demand, then work on games in your spare time. If you can produce enough games to go full time, then that is great, but if you can only produce a few and they can supplement your income, that is great too. But having a game dev degree is really going to narrow your field and cause you more issues if you can't be successful in it. I have a degree in Computer Engineering and work as a Firmware Engineer, and I do game dev on the side. One day, I would love to see it take off and pay my bills, but until then, I am working to make things and to develop my programming skills further, and at someone else's dime no less. Don't undervalue experience outside of game dev because the things you do can help shape your perspectives and help you be successful in different ways. From my understanding, most self-made game devs that have really taken off have worked in other industries and applied what they knew and learned to the games they made, making something new and interesting for an audience seeking escapism.

[@gamedevjourney4231]

I studied computer science to get the background about programming. But since a child I was interested in games and also thought about studying it. But at the time I started studying only private universities were there where you could study game development. And I didn't had the money to go there. But luckily in my bachelor studies of computer science there were a lot of free choices what courses I wanted to go to. So I took any game dev related course there was. There weren't many. But the few I could take were really cool. One about graphics, and one we had to program a game with an AI to play it. And in the end there was a competition where all the AI developed hat to play against each other.

[@shadowgodssj3686]

Can say after looking into it that in Australia there are game courses that cost over 60k

[@shadowgodssj3686]

I should clarify that is for a 3 year course so over 20k per year

[@LordBeef]

I’m most of my way through a degree in computer science with an emphasis in games. So I’ll have a full computer science degree, and I also have some games focused classes (so many total credit hours, lol). I’ve had to teach myself the game engines, so I’m not sure the pure games degree that my school offers is all that worth it, unless you really just want to be an artist, as it’s really 3D art focused. I like my program, though I’ve been frustrated by how some of the games program classes have essentially big group projects with no instruction. I think the CS program at my school does a much better job, even though my Uni‘s games program ranks very highly in the US (University of Utah).

[@jonathanjrod]

Hello dude, and greetings from Miami, FL.😎 I know for a fact that a degree is somewhat meaningless in web development and the gaming industry, what helps you break into any field is a portfolio or game diary. I am considering a career in game dev/game design with Unity/C#. I will be starting a 7-month online course from MIT xPRO University in August. It's a really great Uni to learn everything about games from design to programming, I will also be learning on the side via KZbin, Udemy, etc. I just want to know if game dev is a good career choice over web dev? What do you think? My dream is to land an entry-level job at a major gaming studio by the first quarter of 2025 e.g. Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and Valve are my dream places to work!🤞🏼🤞🏼

[@IntentionalYoutube]

I think in any creative fields a degree is pretty irrelevant all it shows is you are willing to stick with it more than anything but your skills speak for themselves, it's more important that you have experience (which you can get by helping smaller teams instead of triple A and is the easiest way to enter) or even helping with mods as long as you work with a team and have experience with that. That's more important, the networking aspect is nice which you'd get with a degree but now and days you can get a lot of that through reaching out or seeking community online that can get you better connected honestly but if your expectation is just to appear and join a triple A company you probably being unrealisitic start small and build up

[@randomragtags]

For 30K my college got me a computer I had to pay off, a WAY out of date textbook, free programs and a vacant Unity teacher. If the 3D modelling teacher wasn't one of the best teachers I ever had I would have challenged my student fees. I've learnt soooo much more since, working my own projects ;-)

[@AntiCx_edits]

hey im a fresher with no job experience im currently learning unity and godot, how do i get the initial experience in game development which will let me be in a decent game company ??

[@ARJUN-zl9hl]

Lot of experienced people are out there i req u guys to suggest me i have so much will power and want to learn game designe but the way my clg work and the way my brain work is different i am dam confident i can learn it on my own in 3 years but will j get a job if i have great portfolio

[@newbie704]

as a third world country where certificates matter to verify skills is a must, but todays world where internet is free all data can be learned depending on your career path, better buy setups instead of money going to universities and extra cost of living, if ever i chose one i better stay at my room and develop my skills now ( note: related to programming and stuff)

[@gutzimmumdo4910]

if u are going as far as to get a degree, just get a Sft eng degree, is worth the money and ul end up knowing much more than a game deg could ever give u.

[@jacksonalder9610]

Lol im in college right now paying 1k a semester and I think im getting a steal. Thats only because of scholarships. The idea of college being cheap is so foreign to me. Especially from Belgium, which most Americans unjustifiably think is a poor or underdeveloped country. The new American dream is to escape.

[@saeedm9772]

There is a huge chance that your indie game dev journey failes. It is always good to have a backup plan

[@irnational7884]

thanks a lot

[@fancyline6734]

Imo, do what you love , follow what you love, follow your passion. gamedev is not easy especially if you have small team because its has so many aspects art, engines, animation, audio, UI...add to that the marketing. Don't get me wrong gamedev is fun and some indie devs did some really good and successful titles. Its a personal choice and you don't need a degree. You should ask yourself can you live without income and howmany years or months if you are indie gamedev. for example Stardew Valley developed by Eric Barone , brotato developed by Blobfish ...

[@Jalecko]

Dang belgium sure has cheap education

[@channyh.221B]

And if you don't have that kind of money, because of a very low income, they grant you a scholarship, you get your degree, take a job, earn money, pay high taxes so others can have the same chance to get ahead in life, everyone wins. I count my blessings living here.

[@ZephyrFox-y3k]

for me, degree is useless, I should start from 0 again, cause nothing from my college teach me C sharp, even didn't teach me a dammn 3d game mechanic and code, dammn I'am pissed :V

[@ZaphyrVonGenevese]

"If it costs you only the time" well arguably that's the highest possible cost. I would love to study it, but I can either study for a few years, or develop games. Do not have time for both.

[@bakadavi3917]

In my country there is no degree in game dev, only scam overpriced courses

[@cooparchive7857]

Buy a degree 😂

[@bakadavi3917]

@@cooparchive7857 where? Do you have a link?

[@zaftnotameni]

degrees are honestly AWFUL for anything that is non physical tech related... computer science and game development degrees included, it's a complete waste of 3 to 5 years of your time (maybe more if you do masters, etc) if you wanna be a game dev and are determined to also get a degree, 100% do a degree in business or anything in that direction instead, will help you so much more than skills that you can much more easily learn on your own