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[Mephansteras]

The video game industry does usually have some nice perks, though. Casual working environment, fun people to work with, and a culture that's just fine with you playing video games on your lunch break.

I liked working in the industry, despite some rather long hours. And for any of SOE's other faults, they did at least try to compensate everyone for the long hours we worked during crunch time.

But I'd agree, it's not all fun and games while you craft a masterpiece. It's got just as much bug-hunting and boring segments to it as any other programming job. The end product is usually more fun to mess around with, though.

[Bobnova]

There are video games and there are video games.
Work at an independent studio is likely to be far more entertaining than work at say, EA.

My advice at this point in time is, keep your head down, put in a few years, pay off debts, build a bank account, build on-the-job experience. Once your debts are gone, your bank account is solid and you have enough experience doing actual programming work that your resume is decent, go job/city/whatever hunting for a better workplace.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't look now, after all you might find something perfect that doesn't require a few years experience, but it's time to change from the short term college "omg test coming! OMG summer vacation is almost over! OMG only a year left!" mindset to the "I'm building a mini-empire so I can retire at 50 with a fully functional mind/body so I can actually enjoy my retirement for a few decades" mindset.
In short, the simple life is over, welcome to being an adult.
Sounds depressing doesn't it?
There's a bright side, if your job pays decently (seems likely) and you don't blow it all on weekends, you should have plenty of money to put away for later and still have time/money for a hobby or three.
Maybe that hobby is something like helping develop Kerbal Space Program (they may actually pay, not sure on that) that adds to your resume. Maybe it's something like programming Arduinos and building robots that adds to your resume in an entirely new way. Maybe it's mountain biking, to work off the chair time. Maybe it's collecting earthworms or astronomy. Who knows?
In any case, it's evenings and weekends that the majority your fulfillment will likely come from, the job pays for it.
Now if you can get your hands on a job that is occasionally fulfilling, that's fantastic. If you can get your hands on one that is genuinely interesting and fun you've got it made, those are staggeringly rare.

Remember the first (or maybe second, or both) year of college when you were studying a bunch of GE crap you didn't care about at all? That's work.

Find something interesting and fun to do on the weekends, ideally something other than drinking as fun is of limited usefulness if you don't remember it, and work from there.


Hopefully this post wasn't too depressing! There is hope though, I put in a bit over a decade as an auto mechanic, next up (I hope) is the far more interesting field of robotics.
If you plan well (I haven't, but whatever) you can always change careers. Getting your 20 years in for a solid retirement is awesome, but if you're hating the last ten years you'd probably be better off changing jobs and stashing 20% of every paycheck in an IRA.

[nenjin]

Take the phrase "casual work environment" with a grain of salt, especially in software, extra especially in game design.

Companies with a casual work atmosphere, as in, not having rigid schedules and expectations, are that way because they're successful. They got successful because people know how to work hard without being told to work hard.

My company is very casual, but that's a product of a lot of talented people putting in the time to make the company successful to the point where it doesn't need to run like a machine to produce. But there's often very dramatic swings from low impact work to high impact, high stress work.

So yeah. Don't assume casual means you don't work, work hard or have to keep up. Casual means no one is going to breathe down your neck about doing work. You'll eventually just probably be fired if you can't hack it/gel with the work flow.

[Mephansteras]

I was actually referring to things like dress code and work schedules (when you work, not how much), although in hindsight 'casual work envrionment' is a pretty broad term.

[Jimmy]

Watch this. Just watch this.

This is Water

Spoiler: Video Description (click to show/hide)

In 2005, author David Foster Wallace was asked to give the commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College. However, the resulting speech didn't become widely known until 3 years later, after his tragic death. It is, without a doubt, some of the best life advice we've ever come across, and perhaps the most simple and elegant explanation of the real value of education.

Understand that when you finally get out in the real world, you're going to face the daily grind. Others have given plenty of good advice on dealing with this, but remember that you have control over your perspective.

[Skyrunner]

That's a nice speech.

(Reading this thread)
I'm starting to feel  so confused of everything right now D:

[Mephansteras]

That's a nice speech.

(Reading this thread)
I'm starting to feel  so confused of everything right now D:

I would suggest not stressing about it at this point, seeing as you aren't even in college yet. The reality is that work is work and even the best jobs have aspects that are dull and unfulfilling. Most are pretty much just dull and unfulfilling but usually have bright sides. Interesting coworkers, challenging projects, and the like, which make them more tolerable.

My honest suggestion for most people is to get a job that pays well and it at least somewhat interesting while not being all-consuming. Then you can spend your creative energies on something you enjoy doing outside of work. That seems to work reasonably well for most people I've met, even if it isn't ideal.

[Nadaka]

No matter what I say though, I can't really see myself doing anything else. I do enjoy programming, even if the type of programming I do the most isn't particularly enjoyable.