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1/ My two cents about the #XR job market:
Beware folks who generalize from their own unique experience with this nascent industry. All too often, they're just trying to sell you something -- a service, a product, a method, a set of values, the Brooklyn bridge, etc.
Beware folks who generalize from their own unique experience with this nascent industry. All too often, they're just trying to sell you something -- a service, a product, a method, a set of values, the Brooklyn bridge, etc.
2/ My very narrow experience of this market suggests that it's as dominated by unthinking privilege as any other, and (I fear) maybe more than most.
Gender, race, class, ethnicity, religion, geographic location... I'm not going to pretend I can offer a comprehensive, fair list.
Gender, race, class, ethnicity, religion, geographic location... I'm not going to pretend I can offer a comprehensive, fair list.
3/ I'm suspicious of folks who don't foreground privilege when discussing any job market, particularly one that's very young, very unpredictable, and driven by strange waves of innovation, complication, and contradiction.
Privilege shields folks from instability, compromise, etc
Privilege shields folks from instability, compromise, etc
4/ Every day, I see people in this industry (some my former students) posting on social media about how difficult and discouraging the job market has been for them.
How many of these people will be able to afford to 'hang in there' and 'develop their skills'? Which people? Why?
How many of these people will be able to afford to 'hang in there' and 'develop their skills'? Which people? Why?
5/ I can't and won't endorse any generalized method for becoming employed in #XR. The very idea that such a method *could* exist neglects not only the noise in any system, but the simple fact that any such method defeats itself as soon as everyone is using it.
6/ Companies, clients, critics, culture (and Capital with a captial-C) all want different and often incompatible things. And none of these things are primarily designed to support and nurture people.
You know what supports and nurtures people? A good community.
You know what supports and nurtures people? A good community.
7/ This is another old trick from the Privilege Playbook: create a selective, exclusionary community designed to support specific individuals and nurture specific ideals, methods, products, services.
Beware any folks who are selling you something that resembles this.
Beware any folks who are selling you something that resembles this.
8/ For example, if someone says, "This is a portfolio industry, only your portfolio matters," they are not telling you something that is *true*.
They are selling you on the exclusionary idea (and ideal) that folks who have portfolios are more valuable than folks who don't.
They are selling you on the exclusionary idea (and ideal) that folks who have portfolios are more valuable than folks who don't.
9/ Maybe you've read a piece of advice like this: "You don't need to write essays to be a game designer! Writing is a waste of time! Go make stuff!"
Ask yourself: what does this person stand to *gain* from employing people who don't value reading and writing?
Ask yourself: what does this person stand to *gain* from employing people who don't value reading and writing?
10/ As an educator, I've come to believe two things about reading and writing:
First, they are very difficult.
Second, they make other things less difficult.
First, they are very difficult.
Second, they make other things less difficult.
11/ One of the biggest open secrets in games development is that developers *constantly* look things up.
Stuck on a difficult problem? Read about it.
Still stuck? Write a question, post it to a forum.
Reading and writing are (IMO) essential skills for developers of all kinds.
Stuck on a difficult problem? Read about it.
Still stuck? Write a question, post it to a forum.
Reading and writing are (IMO) essential skills for developers of all kinds.
12/ When you read a thread on a forum, and then ask a question or add a solution, you're not simply exchanging information. You're also exchanging values, principles, experiences. You're participating in a community.
For example, Twitter is a community of readers and writers.
For example, Twitter is a community of readers and writers.
13/ Beware anyone who says reading and writing aren't important. Do you want to be part of a community who believes this?
And pity anyone who _tweets_ that reading and writing aren't important. At best, this is ironic; at worst, it's a scam of the worst kind.
And pity anyone who _tweets_ that reading and writing aren't important. At best, this is ironic; at worst, it's a scam of the worst kind.
14/ Sidenote: I can't decide if I made a grammatical error in that last tweet.
Should I have written "community that", or is "community who" acceptable?
Should I have written "community that", or is "community who" acceptable?
15/ Note that rules of grammar and usage (like all rules) are driven by culture, and reflect the values of specific place, time, and group of people.
Rules governing employment are like this, too.
Rules governing employment are like this, too.
16/ When you read someone's advice about getting a job, you're really reading about the values held by that person and, often, their communities. Ask yourself: do I want to join that community?
Ask yourself: what about that community do I want to change?
Ask yourself: what about that community do I want to change?
17/ You may not have the power, the experience, the skills needed to promote the change you want to see in a community, in an industry.
Ask yourself why this is the case. Who has that power? How do you get that experience? What skills do you _actually_ need?
Ask yourself why this is the case. Who has that power? How do you get that experience? What skills do you _actually_ need?
18/ In my opinion, these are the only essential job skills:
-- The will to question power.
-- The endurance required by experience.
-- The courage to ask (and answer) questions.
My sincere advice is to begin your job search by questioning everything I've said in this thread.
-- The will to question power.
-- The endurance required by experience.
-- The courage to ask (and answer) questions.
My sincere advice is to begin your job search by questioning everything I've said in this thread.
