Jens Schroeder, our occasional contributor on the topic of video games, was recently interviewed by the Australian division of Kotaku about whether or not industry-specific schools led to actual careers at video game companies:
To an extent Jens Schroeder, Campus Academic Coordinator at Qantm, sympathises with both.
“I think you’ll always get this contrast in any institution and admittedly I can sort of see where some of the students are coming from,” he says.
“During orientation I’m always trying to make clear to students that this is a pathway. Parents come in for open days and they ask, ‘will our children find a job?’ It’s a fair question. The spiel I give them is probably yes — if they work really hard, show the right attitude and entertain possibilities outside of the more hardcore side of things. You have to think outside the box — games for health, games that rehabilitate old people through dance mats! You know?
“A lot of the students still find it difficult to get used to the idea that they might not be working on the nextCall of Duty.”
You get the sense that Jens struggles with the naïveté of some students, the sense of entitlement.
“No one is waiting to recognise their inherent genius,” laughs Jens, “which is what I think a lot of students believe. One of the things I’m really trying to encourage is to get students to attend networking events — like the IGDA stuff. You ask them to attend, and you go there and it’s the same five people! I’m like really? Those are some of the basic skills you have to learn. That can be a little disheartening.
“Maybe it’s an age thing — some of them come directly out of high school. They just want to make games, they don’t realise the effort needed to succeed.”
And while I wasn't necessarily quoted or mentioned by name, Business Insider used a photo of me from my trip to Puerto Rico for their article on "Crazy Ad Agency Office Perks That Make Us Think We Chose The Wrong Job."
-Parker