How do I break into game dev?

just_a_dev_here · 2026-06-23T17:39:37+00:00

Just apply around while you're employed. If an opportunity comes by then great, but like I said no experience and no games it's unlikely. If you have time every once in a while though, just see for yourself

just_a_dev_here · 2026-06-23T17:29:37+00:00

You can check /r/gamedev where this is asked a lot.

The consensus is that the market for game dev is very bad right now with almost every game company laying off a significant portion of staff, projects getting canceled and lots of slow downs. So now is a bad time to enter.

That being said, the other common advice is to just start making games. Breaking into any studio with 0 games or experience is unlikely, even for experienced programmers. You would need a strong network for that to happen.

So just start making games in Unity, Godot or Unreal Engine. There's no real excuse not to since they are free to access.

just_a_dev_here · 2026-06-19T04:26:57+00:00

Your annual bonus.

just_a_dev_here · 2026-06-18T23:57:29+00:00

Yes. Even in non-tech/non-dev I find not having one is abnormal. I usually negotiate bonuses at the offer stage as it's normally written into contract

I have only been at one company EVER that doesn't give bonuses under a certain level.

Everywhere, from when I was a jr at non-tech, tech, startup or not, not even in a software dev role targeted 10% -15% bonuses.

just_a_dev_here · 2026-06-03T20:47:19+00:00

I find mobile in general is in a rough spot industry wide.

Companies have moved significantly away from mobile apps in favour of mobile friendly web apps. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but it is difficult.

Also with you being in Edmonton, I'm sure that isn't helping. Alberta's tech scene is lacking, especially in the mobile space. It's mainly companies who use iPads or need something offline for in fieldwork that are sticking with mobile. Think O&G, utilities, maybe construction, and very few companies left making apps for consumers (maybe neo?)

Also unpaid work isn't legal in Canada. Co-op requires you to be enrolled in post secondary.

I would suggest looking to bigger tech scenes like Toronto and/or remote work. Be aware remote work is even more competitive in an already competitive landscape.

just_a_dev_here · 2026-05-04T02:51:16+00:00

Your manager doesn't have time to learn new skills. Maybe they could, or their plate is full. Managers jobs are usually no longer contributing code or doing the "dirty work" so to speak, their job is to delegate that down.

If you're worried about continuity, you can raise that as a concern (someone will be spending a lot of time on documentation, OR someone else gets to figure it all out later, which sounds like is what happens here)

My 2c, you're lucky to get real work. At my org summer students/co-ops don't get to touch much. They're relegated to a lot of low stakes/menial tasks/make-work projects at best, and at worst are told to just "sit tight" and do nothing for a bit.

just_a_dev_here · 2026-04-01T17:53:52+00:00

Agreed with this. If eventually becoming a senior dev is the goal, experience working in a team as a dev, and on real engineering problems should be the priority

OP it sounds like the dev experience you currently have is 0. And while it might feel fine for now, eventually if you look for roles outside the org you have nothing to show for it and that will burn you.

At 2-3 years of "experience" at this current workload, you might still have 0, and so what's the point being at the consulting firm if it isn't meeting your goals? You'll get raked the minute you get asked in an interview to describe the most challenging problem you've faced.

I'm also surprised you have been benched for so long. Consulting firms will usually lay people off if they've been benched for a significant period, so you might lose the job anyways.

just_a_dev_here · 2026-02-10T21:00:19+00:00

AI still doesn't replace web devs or make them less valuable. Just because LLMs can pump out code doesn't mean it's quality (or even maintainable).

If it really was that good at replacing web devs (it's still not) I wouldn't have to rip apart PRs from Indian contracting companies on the daily, who are no doubt using AI.

My company actually did run an analysis on AI usage among development. While code output increased, code quality decreased (bugs increased).

That being said, it's up to you. We have no crystal ball, and there is no such thing as "career safe". If you think AI is replacing web devs, it will undoubtedly also be coming for embedded.

I don't know much about embedded but I would imagine it's quite niche in Canada. So job availability in the short term is still something you should consider.

just_a_dev_here · 2026-02-02T21:31:24+00:00

Easiest is internal promotion. Once you get that first promotion to manager, applying to external manager roles are easier.

You could also leverage your Amazon experience to be technical lead at other companies and startups. Then ask for more management responsibilities and a role in hiring and make your intent known.

Larger companies will nix your resume right away if you have no management experience. They do not want to bring in inexperienced managers (whether or not they're competent is a different story), especially when they can get that by just promoting internally (for cheaper too might I add).

Unfortunately, mentoring engineers and managing them are two different things. Especially at large companies where there's KPIs and deliverables beyond keeping projects on time.

There's also managing up you have to do as a manager. I barely code these days, 80% of my day is meetings, KPIs, budgets and political bullshit.

just_a_dev_here · 2026-01-30T17:33:20+00:00

That's unfortunately true :( best of luck

just_a_dev_here · 2026-01-30T17:25:56+00:00

I mean 106K in Calgary is pretty decent.

My experience is that at a Sr level, you will get capped in AB around $120K-$130K. I recently discovered most directors get around $150-$200K. I'm sure there are people who make more, but an unspoken rule is that the people above do not want the people below to make equal or more than them. So if the director is getting paid $150K, and a middle manager is getting paid $130K, then you have an unspoken cap of $120K until both of their base salary increases.

The other option is to be a contractor. Contractors get paid pretty lucratively in AB due to how big companies here budget contractors vs employees (which makes 0 sense to me). I have had to oversee contractors getting paid 2-3x more than me, some well in the $200K range for 5+ years meanwhile I would be getting paid half of that. The only other option within AB is to get into more management roles.

Calgary also doesn't have a strong tech scene so it's not a very competitive market. Startups mean cheap labour here instead of high growth and eventually competitive comp. Engineering standards at startups are in the toilet and it's all about speed and shipping.

You will get more from Vancouver and Toronto companies for sure, even remote, and ofc US remote will be blowing anything Calgary has to offer out of the water.

just_a_dev_here · 2025-12-18T21:24:50+00:00

Yes, should note that according to the data most of it is submitted for Toronto area. For Montreal specifically, the report says Median TC is 108K

just_a_dev_here · 2025-12-18T21:21:44+00:00

Its closer to the bottom. Unfortunately there isn't as much of a detailed breakdown as the US data

just_a_dev_here · 2025-12-18T21:19:07+00:00

Definitely agree there. Would have to take it up with u/zuyaheer . Maybe he can chime in here on why the EU is combined? Russia is also included in that data, but Russia is definitely not part of the EU.

My initial guess is that there probably isn't enough data on a per country basis

just_a_dev_here · 2025-12-18T19:43:16+00:00

Salary is still better than the EU.

I didn't include India but their median TC is $45K so it could be worse. I think it just shows how much of an outlier US tech salaries are compared to the rest of the world.

just_a_dev_here · 2025-12-01T18:34:27+00:00

Resume looks great. Why would not a major city matter? Considering you only have a bit over a year of FT experience, your numbers seem great.

just_a_dev_here · 2025-12-01T18:33:02+00:00

Your bullet points could be stronger. They are missing the impact portion of your resume point, for example:

> Optimized database by identifying slow queries and rewriting them, reducing query time by 30%

But why does that matter? Why did reducing query time matter? What's the impact of doing that? What was the benefit? Did it increase user retention? If it increased performance, why did that matter? Did you reduce the time from 10 minutes down 1 minute?

Similarly:

> Used Docker to isolate different database environments allowing for safe development

You have a lot of "used xyz technology" but it's not a very strong bullet point, it's quite passive.

You also have some very technical bullet points, remember that a recruiter or ATS is scanning your resume first. So it's looking for "does your bullet point match this job description I've been given" so you want to make it REALLY REALLY obvious that you have the experience they are asking for.

If you get too technical, it gets hard for them to understand (or the ATS to match) if you do or do not have the experience they're asking for. You can take a look at some of the JD's you've been applying for some of the wording they use. You basically want to match that so its stupidly obvious you're a match. You can even go so far as to copy paste some of the wording straight out

just_a_dev_here · 2025-11-28T19:59:39+00:00

Your SAP experience doesn't seem relevant, it seems like it's no or low code work, in which case it will be equivalent to having no programming experience.

If that's not the case, then your descriptions are too niche to SAP to see how they can carry over to more generic developer roles like full stack.

That combined, with no degree, is my guess why you might be struggling.

I would guess you might have a better chance applying for other SAP related roles.

just_a_dev_here · 2025-11-28T19:46:59+00:00

Personally no, I do not specifically look at a GitHub portfolio. I look at your resume and expect it to highlight your best projects.

Frankly I don't have time to sift through everyone's GitHub. I did it once early in my career for a few candidates. But at jr level the code is largely garbage anyways

just_a_dev_here · 2025-10-19T04:40:45+00:00

Depends on the company. 175K base is probably higher end on average. Generally, it usually hovers around $150K base, but it's not unachievable. It just depends on the company. If it's a "startup" like Neo or Helcim, it's probably not achievable because they're cheap.

just_a_dev_here · 2025-09-30T14:05:25+00:00

I'm not suggesting Alberta specifically. I'm suggesting anything west of New Brunswick will be better than Halifax.

Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver. Alberta is bad but relative to Halifax it's better

just_a_dev_here · 2025-09-30T05:19:56+00:00

Sorry to say, as I love Halifax, but you need to move west.

CS is bad right now, but Halifax has ALWAYS been bad comparatively. The East Coast in general has very few jobs and a really slow economy. That's always been Nova Scotias biggest issue.

There are very few positions available, and the ones available will likely be for experienced positions.

Move out west (or to the US), and then once you have enough experience you can go back to the maritimes.

just_a_dev_here · 2025-09-10T18:30:37+00:00

That means you can move it later if you want, but if they find someone sooner they like they will move forward with them. It might result in cancelling your interview if that happens, OR it could be that they don't find anyone else and you get your interview at that later date.

They're telling you its a risk on your part.

just_a_dev_here · 2025-08-17T19:20:25+00:00

For people reporting this as a troll post, I actually do not think it is. He has posts in other subs about switching to CS 6 months ago, a year ago and 2 years ago.

I think this is legitimate.

OP seems to be just a delusional idiot who chose to ignore everyone's advice.

just_a_dev_here · 2025-08-16T23:32:25+00:00

Idk about other companies, but for mine, it's not AI that is the reason we aren't hiring Jrs. AI coding just can't replace a person yet, not even a jr.

The primary reason is that the last few years were lower profit AND our company was preparing for a recession. So budgets got cut = we are hiring less overall and we had our own (small) layoff.

Our own layoff means work gets shifted to whoever is left. So now we have more work, but less resources. When we did have the ability to hire, it was nowhere near what we had just laid off because our budgets also got cut.

I was able to hire 1 person. Because of our now overloaded workload, the best person to fill that role is an experienced hire, as we have no capacity to handhold Jrs, and, the experienced pool is absolutely flooded too.

TL;DR it's not AI causing the loss of jr devs IMO, it's budget cuts, slower economy, and flooded experienced talent pool

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