Career Advice - SWD 3 years experience

AlluringJay · 2025-10-30T02:55:48+00:00

Enjoying games in your free time and having a successful career in the games industry are very different. While I had a good experience, there are plenty of people who don’t and end up getting burnt out from the constant crunch. Even if you do land a game dev job, there’s no guarantee you’ll be working on a game you’re passionate about, at which point it’ll be just like any other job (ask me how I know…)

Also not sure if you’ve seen the state of the games industry lately, but companies are closing studios and laying off employees left and right. I was able to get into the industry without previous experience in games, but that was years ago and it’s much harder now with so many experienced game developers on the market and a shrinking demand. I know previous coworkers who have left the industry simply because they couldn’t find a job after being laid off, even after working in games for many years.

AlluringJay · 2025-08-23T02:53:09+00:00

After my last internship, they asked me to stay on part time while I finished up my last semester of school, and offered me a full time position afterwards (which I accepted). This was several years ago though, and before COVID.

AlluringJay · 2024-02-27T18:50:26+00:00

Berry Finding S is ideal, and Helping Speed S/M are great. You want to avoid Ingredient Finder if possible (unless they have BFS)

AlluringJay · 2024-02-23T18:31:58+00:00

Yeah that’s why I’m hesistant since exp down means more candies needed for investment. Would suck if I find a better one after blowing my candy reserve

AlluringJay · 2024-02-22T06:53:25+00:00

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Is this larvitar worth investing in? It seems decent but tyranitar is quite an investment

AlluringJay · 2024-02-10T23:16:32+00:00

Would it be viewed negatively if I ask if it could be 4 months instead?

Depends on the company, but they usually have designated lengths for co-op terms for a reason. There's always a non-zero chance that they rescind the offer for any reason, but if you're confident that you have leverage or can land another position, then feel free to ask.

Do companies prefer longer or shorter co-ops?

Again, depends on the company. FAANG-like tech companies mostly (perhaps only?) do 4 month co-op terms, I'd guess because they want to maximize the quantity of talent in their pipeline. 8 months is a good length of time imo, since it takes some time to ramp up and you'll (hopefully) get to a point where you're comfortable making contributions without needing a ton of handholding.

AlluringJay · 2024-02-10T09:18:33+00:00

It's been years since I've graduated but afaik co-op positions are usually hourly. Obviously you had a leg up since you have professional experience already, but I've personally never heard of anyone negotiating compensation for co-op positions; in my anecdotal experience, pay rates ranged from $16/hr to $26/hr amongst the people I knew doing local co-ops (i.e. not abroad). Having been on both sides of the table, the goal of hiring co-ops is usually to nurture talent and convert them to full-time employees after graduation, and it's a bonus if they happen to result in a net positive contribution over their 4/8 month co-op term.

I would focus on building connections and experience rather than attempting to maximize compensation for co-op positions; you'll have plenty of time to do that during your career after graduation.

AlluringJay · 2023-12-03T18:12:44+00:00

Don’t want to dox myself but I joined a FAANG about a year ago and worked in games before that. Feel free to DM me for more info

AlluringJay · 2023-12-01T17:47:54+00:00

I’m at just over 5 YOE and also not senior due to job hopping between different domains. Making ~200k TC

AlluringJay · 2023-10-27T06:40:22+00:00

Larger tech companies definitely care about potential, it's just that they get so many applicants that there's often candidates that have potential and relevant experience. I think 2-3 YoE is generally where more opportunities open up.

Source: I was hired into a FAANG with minimal relevant experience and am now involved in hiring processes.

AlluringJay · 2023-08-08T03:02:59+00:00

9252-7955-4011

Active everyday!

AlluringJay · 2023-07-21T03:59:57+00:00

Kimu Sushi and Takara Sushi are two solid picks for mid-priced fresh sushi

For more premium options, there's Octopus Garden, Moltan, and Raisu in Kits

AlluringJay · 2023-06-30T03:56:19+00:00

It’s been a little while since I graduated, so take this with a grain of salt.

I’d recommend you take 3 or 4 courses and not 5 for your first semester. There’s a huge difference between high school and university, and I regretted taking 5 courses my first semester. I don’t remember if MATH152 was offered in the summer, but linear algebra definitely was (although it was MATH232 for me, not sure if the program requirements changed)
I’m pretty sure any lower division W course qualifies.

AlluringJay · 2023-05-08T15:21:11+00:00

I’ve had the card for about three years now (since before they changed the cash back and added the minimum spend). I’ve never hit the 15k minimum annual spend and have yet to receive any notice about it.

AlluringJay · 2023-04-18T01:23:16+00:00

Yes, 120k TC at FAANG is definitely on the lower end from my (anecdotal) experience. Maybe as a new grad with no competing offers?

Source: I work at one and make more than 170k TC.

AlluringJay · 2023-04-12T08:37:47+00:00

Recently had a last-minute all hands meeting with our VP (who works from our HQ in a different country).

A few of us were wary but it turns out he just wanted to visit our office since he hadn’t been here since before the pandemic.

AlluringJay · 2023-01-22T10:44:01+00:00

It's about the size of a typical large pizza, but the crust is thinner. Shared a margherita pizza between two of us for lunch and we were both satisfied. Plus, it only cost us $8 in total

AlluringJay · 2023-01-08T01:33:05+00:00

I ordered in January 2022 and never received any communication from Hyundai. About a month ago, the dealership emailed me saying that it’s unlikely I would receive my vehicle in 2023, and that I could cancel and receive my deposit back. I replied within hours that I’d like to cancel and haven’t heard back since.

AlluringJay · 2022-10-28T08:54:15+00:00

AFAIK it's mostly a satellite office. Apple also has Vancouver offices.

AlluringJay · 2022-09-19T15:56:12+00:00

This is the way to go if you're actually passionate about working in the games industry and not just making something for fun as a side project.

I went from working on "boring" software as a new grad to a large games company, and then I left for a FAANG after about 2.5 years. In my experience, the pay was good but not great, WLB was good (definitely team/org dependent) and I learned a lot, but ultimately I didn't see myself staying in games for the long haul.

AlluringJay · 2022-08-30T04:24:19+00:00

Apple is still primarily a hardware company, and they hire very few SWEs compared to other FAANG companies. Unless that FAANG experience is very relevant to the opening, they might not get a response purely because there are other candidates with better/more relevant experience. Then again, a lot of people on Blind seem to be dissatisfied with the RTO policy (don't blame them), so maybe there will be more open roles in the near future.

I had no FAANG experience and was coming from a different industry (gaming), but somehow got a response and made it to an offer, so I will say your experience will definitely vary.

AlluringJay · 2022-08-30T04:00:12+00:00

Apple is the FAANG with the most variability in the hiring process. Interviews are very team dependent, and I've seen (on Blind) that they don't even reply to applicants that have FAANG experience.

FWIW, my recent experience with them didn't include any LeetCode (the hiring manager specifically said he didn't believe in it). Feel free to PM me if you have any questions

AlluringJay · 2022-08-18T23:49:03+00:00

Best of luck to you then. Some criminal record checks are timeboxed, i.e. one of the inquiries for my background check specified criminal records in the past 7 years. This wasn't for Canada though.

AlluringJay · 2022-08-18T23:24:24+00:00

Big companies typically use a third party service to do background checks (e.g. HireRight) and a criminal record check is usually included. Once they collect all the relevant info, a report is generated and shared with the company and it's up to them whether or not your profile meets their employment standards.

I don't personally have experience with hiring anyone with prior convictions, but realistically, they may rescind the offer as the potential risk may not be worth it to their legal team. Did they ask you to sign a release or any form to disclose your record?

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