That's something I have to agree with, wholeheartedly. As someone just about to leave school from a specialized course for game development, I still have my reservations about whether I'd be able to get a job right away. My case is a little different from my classmates, as I've dabbled in things more than they have, and I have years of prior experience, but I'm still afraid that I'll not be able to get a job. One thing I've noticed from EVERY job posting that I've read, is that 3+ years of previous experience in the industry is REQUIRED, as well as a degree in computer science. Now, explain to me how I can ever hope to accomplish that if EVERY company is looking for that. That's not too encouraging now, is it? Everyone wants top-notch people; the best the business has to offer. And they won't accept anything less. That's why I think most companies are leaving the US, because they haven't even tapped the resources in other countries. I watched a documentary on TV about a Chinese game development school, and some of their students' work was amazing! There's also the fact that people only seem to like certain styles of games, and the companies that make those games do very well. But when a smaller company tries to sell the idea or product to a publisher, and they're turned away because there's something better out on the market they're trying for. To me, this seems to be the decade of sequels. How many sequels to a high-selling game have you seen come out the past few years? Another thing, publishers charge too damned much. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. People don't want to pay for games for that reason. And it's not going to get better on either side. Publishers complain that people aren't paying, so they're losing money and have to charge more... Consumers are complaining that the publishers charge too much, and so they refuse to pay. And it goes on and on and on... From: "Jason Clark" <jclark@xxxxxxxx> Reply-To: gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To: <gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [gameprogrammer] Re: PC game Outsourcing Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 15:32:12 -0700 The one thing about off-shoring that I worry about is that when a company like mine contracts overseas, the local work force they hire are senior engineers and management types to watch over quality and bring the end result together. What gets lost is the entry level positions, the kids right out of school, where will they get their opportunity to become a senior engineer? I fear that local companies who don't invest a little in the local work force will find that in another 10 years the workers they do have available will be so poorly skilled and so distant from the 'cutting edge' that they won't even be able to compete with foreign markets. Just a thought, Jason. -----Original Message----- From: gameprogrammer-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gameprogrammer-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of grant hallman Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 3:00 PM To: gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gameprogrammer] Re: PC game Outsourcing At 02:33 PM 26-04-04 -0500, you wrote: [snip] >You want technical jobs back in the US you have to create companies that >hire people in the US. > > Bob Pendleton But you already have companies that would do that, that's not the problem. No CEO just wakes up one morning and says, Hey, i wanna trip to Bangladesh, let's see, why would i go there? If u want jobs - tech, industrial, clothing, whatever - what u have to do is create conditions that give big companies reason to hire in your country. That comes down to a few possibilities: (1) Local expertise - but that lasts only as long as it takes the next generation to go thru school. (2) Trade barriers - but those work both ways, and end up harming your own jobs in another industry. (3) Be competitive - IMO, the only long-term solution. How many hours should a programmer - anywhere in the world - have to work to be able to buy a TV, or a car? Canada, where i live, has been next door to the US forever - a population and economy about 10x our size. Trade barriers hurt both countries. Nevertheless we compete well using (3), in areas where we do well - communications, some manufacturing jobs, med research, and agriculture and natural resources. I don't think there's a better way. "Buy American", or "buy Canadian", just does not get people to pay $25 for a T-shirt or $900 for a 27" TV. Each person decides on their own, I'm not gonna spend an extra 75% for a local-made TV, or car, ot pair of socks, so some local union worker can make more money than his oversees competition. Heck, if u did that, then u'd need higher wages yourself, and the product u made would cost more, and the other guy would need higher wages too. The good news is, the more efficiently things get made, the more things the average person can affort. All this is a transition from local to global economy, and i doubt there's any way to go back. regards - grant _________________________________________________________________ MSN Premium: Up to 11 personalized e-mail addresses and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines