Score with a Career in Video Game Industry

(ARA) - Remember Mom's warning that you would never earn a living playing video games? If Mom could have foreseen the growth of the $10 billion gaming industry, she might have encouraged you to play more and worry about your homework less.

The video game industry is booming and so is the demand for gaming-experienced professionals to fill an array of jobs, from developing new games to creating simulations for military and tactical applications. In fact, the U.S. Army alone plans to invest $100 million in training games and simulations over the next few years.

Companies like State Farm are investing as well. "State Farm is researching and prototyping how game technology can be used in the workplace," says Brandon Whatley, systems analyst for State Farm Insurance. "We are currently exploring various options in the areas of group collaboration, training, recruiting and virtual work."

Both industries need smart men and women with highly specialized skills to help them continue to grow. Christopher Axthelm, 28, of Washington, D.C. is among those who have answered the call. Like many American kids, he grew up playing video games. "I got a Nintendo Entertainment System when I was about 10 years old and started programming video games in early high-school on my TI-85 graphing calculator," he says.

Following high school, he pursued a communications degree at the University of South Florida, and after graduation, worked in customer service for a Washington, D.C. company for a while. "But it really wasn't what I wanted to do with my life, so I decided to go back to school," says Axthelm.

He decided to pursue a degree in Game and Simulation Programming (GSP) at DeVry University's Arlington campus so he could turn his childhood love of gaming into a profitable career.

"During their time at DeVry, GSP students are exposed to a wide range of concepts," says Professor Joe Keum, who teaches at DeVry's Crystal City, Va. campus. "They learn to program in C++ at some level of competence. They learn software development, gain valuable team project experience and come to understand the basic hardware and network issues regarding 3D computer graphics."

Gaming graduates need an array of specialized skills, like:

* The ability to apply higher-level math and science to programming multidimensional dynamic imagery in interactive computer programs.

* Creating game and simulation software programs that employ contemporary application functionality.

* Applying software engineering and project management skills to game and simulation development.

* Communicating effectively both orally and in writing; and

* Participating effectively in project team environments.

Axthelm just graduated this past February and is already employed in the industry. Open Path Products, a wireless technology company located in Annapolis, Md., hired him to help develop technology that will grow their business. "I'll be editing code to make video games work on a variety of systems," he says.

Michelle Mercurio, director of career services for DeVry's Mid-Atlantic region says with a gaming degree, students can be poised to cash in on a booming market where exciting new jobs are created every day. "Our programmers are equipped to enter a variety of non-traditional fields within the gaming and simulation arenas," she says.

Examples include military tactical and strategic simulations and training, automotive design and testing, training for health care workers, crime scene reconstruction, flight simulation and any other industry that does design and prototyping work.

For more information on the bachelor's degree program in Game and Simulation Programming from DeVry, log on to www.DeVry.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent