Train2Game... too good to be true?
Train2Game... too good to be true?
Author
Discussion

tdm34ds

Original Poster:

7,495 posts

239 months

Friday 18th September 2009
quotequote all
Has any PHer any experience of these people?
My son wants to go with them, but the investment's quite steep
and there's a whiff of snake oil about them.

I've done a Google search and you get either people screaming "Total Scam"
or people praising them to the skies.
Strange that there seems to be no fence sitters

All opinions welcome especially from people with experiance in the Game industry

http://www.train2game.com/

Regards..

jesta1865

3,453 posts

238 months

Friday 18th September 2009
quotequote all
i would get your son to look into uni, a friends son is at bolton uni at the moment doing a game software developers course. it may be a much cheaper and enjoyable experience.

Tycho

12,274 posts

302 months

Friday 18th September 2009
quotequote all
Uni seems to be the way to go from what I've heard. It is a hugely competitive industry and personally I wouldn't trust anyone who outs junk mail through my letter box.

sidaorb

5,595 posts

235 months

Friday 18th September 2009
quotequote all
I'll try and contact my brother-in-law over the weekend, he works for THQ in Aus, but might be able to check with his company over here about these course.

WeirdNeville

6,049 posts

244 months

Friday 18th September 2009
quotequote all
Sounds a bit like the red driving school to me.
Can you get any stats on how many tainees have jobs in the industry a year later and what their wages are? Or testimonials from those who've done the course?

GTRR35

52 posts

204 months

Sunday 20th September 2009
quotequote all
Im currently at Uni studying Computer science.

But in the gaming industry you can earn from £23,000 a year up like £70,000 depending on your position.

If you have other skills or qualifications such as business management you can probably move up quicker. Also if you got a MSC it can improve your chances of moving up quick. IT industry is different from others. You can be a senior in just 4 5 years. Depending on how good you are. But top guys can earn even more than £80,000 a year. It just depends. Its highly competitive and really hard work. You really have to know your stuff.

My mates cousin went for a basic Java programming job. In the interview they told him to write a program. He did it but they told him he took too long.

Its a hard industry. You might even need a presentation in some interviews. Also to be well prepared. A year experience or placement or apprenticeship will go a long way to securing a job.

so a sandwich course will be handy.

You need to be great at problem solving and ability to be very creative helps. You also need to be strong and determined mentally. Programming will fry your brains! and can make you insane. Its one of the most difficult things ive ever done.

SlipStream77

2,153 posts

220 months

Sunday 20th September 2009
quotequote all
When I did some research into the games industry a few years back, it revealed it to be a very high pressure environment in which to work. Those employed in the software industry should always expect deadlines but games developers are often pushed by publishers to get the product finished ASAP.

Unless you are absolutely sure, my advice would be go for a university degree, something like computer science or software engineering. You will be qualified to work on games but if you find getting employment difficult or you don't like it, your degree won't be too specialised to get work elsewhere.

There are some good websites that will perhaps give a little insight into the games industry, here's one...

http://www.gamedev.net/

Good luck smile

The_Jackal

4,854 posts

226 months

Sunday 20th September 2009
quotequote all
I used to work for Codemasters and I know they were working closely with a University to provide a relevant Games programming course.
It is very cut throat to work in games and you have to be one of the best and you are constantly pushed and pressured to push your skills further, it is definitely not a 9 to 5 job.
My advice would be to speak to one of the big developers/publishers in the uk (ie. Codeasters/EA/SEAGA etc) and ask them what THEY want.
The world is full of people that study so called games design courses who get rejected because they dont know their stuff.
Also, relevant experience is VERY important, unless you can prove your programing skills are up their with the best in the country.

If you want an respected opinion on Train2game try speaking to some people in the industry rather than just forums etc.