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[Virion]

I am currently working in a AAA game (outsource) company who did art assets for Super Sonic Racing and Brink. They don't give a damn to certificate, only look at the portfolio. If you have a successful indie game under your belt, they will hire you. Big company like EA *might* probably be the same because quite a few top people here in my company are former EA leads. They probably using similar standards. But somehow you gotta polish your game before showing them. Just some tips here.

[Richard Kain]

Producing your own games will always have a heavy sway in the hiring process of the AAA industry. This is why successful mod teams are considered solid centers for recruitment. Above everything else, AAA companies prioritize the ability to ship the product. If you have proven your ability to do that, than there is a place for you in the AAA industry.

Of course, if you've proven your ability to do that, you've also proven that you don't really need the AAA industry. And these days, a lot of developers would question why you would ever want to join the AAA industry when you've already proven your capabilities as an indie developer.

The average length of employment in the AAA industry is 5 years. And that's not for a single company, it is for entire individual careers.

[Falmil]

The average length of employment in the AAA industry is 5 years. And that's not for a single company, it is for entire individual careers.

Huh...I've heard of burn out and people getting fired after projects are completed, but never heard of a number like that. You have a source for it? I would definitely like to read more.

[Chris Pavia]

I've heard the 5 year thing too, but I can't remember where (I think it was gamasutra). At every studio I've worked at, there were things that were great and things that sucked (pretty much like everything else).
1st studio: Never any crunch, never worried about getting laid off, decent creative freedom, but worked on very boring uninspiring games.
2nd studio: Crunched 24/7, never got paid on time, always worried about getting laid off, but had nearly total creative freedom.
3rd studio: Never any crunch that wasn't self-imposed, regularly worked with some cool licenses, got to pitch lots of original games, but usually had very little creative freedom, which was usually dictated by whatever was popular this week.

[Manuel Magalhães]

One day if I choose to take a computer science degree I want to go work on a AAA company, possibly one where one my favorite games got developed (emphasis on possibly, I may not be able to get a job there), to learn with who I consider masters in making games, although I don't know if I'll be able to learn Japanese. (so no Cave, SCE Japan Studio, Irem, Konami, etc.)
So my choices would be:
-Criterion (Burnout 3)
-Insomniac (Ratchet & Clank 3)
-Naughty Dog (Jak 3)
-Valve (Portal 2)
And probably more of them, but it's either on Japan, defunct, or simply not very good to work with (e.g. Activision).

[TeeGee]

I got my first game dev job, which was in a AAA studio, thanks to my indie game Magi. So it's definitely possible.

Since then, I was never asked about my education when getting interviewed for a job. The subject wasn't even mentioned, all that interested them was my portfolio.

[Zack Bell]

I got my first game dev job, which was in a AAA studio, thanks to my indie game Magi. So it's definitely possible.

Since then, I was never asked about my education when getting interviewed for a job. The subject wasn't even mentioned, all that interested them was my portfolio.

Was Magi a Game Maker game? I think I remember reading that somewhere. If yes, that's super good news.

It would be nice to see something like GM get so highly thought of.

[thatshelby]

  It's the game, not the program.

[Zack Bell]

I agree, I just know a few AAA programmers who don't usually give much credit to someone who programs with something as simple as GM. (not that all GM games are simple. I know that mine is far from it so far)

[Richard Kain]

I agree, I just know a few AAA programmers who don't usually give much credit to someone who programs with something as simple as GM.

Well, the thing is that you no longer have to be some manner of uber-programmer in order to make games. It certainly doesn't hurt to have mad programming skillz. But anyone with a clear understanding of logic, and the patience to learn a scripting language's syntax can get their feet wet making games. And there's a surprising amount that can be done this way, whether you're using Game Maker or Unity or what have you.

This lessened dependence on in-depth coding is allowing a lot more artists and writers to start moving into full-scale development. As Theophilus said, its the games you make that really matter.

[Paul Eres]

Huh...I've heard of burn out and people getting fired after projects are completed, but never heard of a number like that. You have a source for it? I would definitely like to read more.

i'm surprised it's even that high. there's no end of kids from college who want to program games, so they just hire new ones and overwork them and fire them before they have to raise their salaries or give them higher positions. i had heard more like 2-3 years (one project)

[TeeGee]

I got my first game dev job, which was in a AAA studio, thanks to my indie game Magi. So it's definitely possible.

Since then, I was never asked about my education when getting interviewed for a job. The subject wasn't even mentioned, all that interested them was my portfolio.

Was Magi a Game Maker game? I think I remember reading that somewhere. If yes, that's super good news.

It would be nice to see something like GM get so highly thought of.

Yeah, it's in GM (as are our recent games). Though, when I worked at the industry, I was a designer, not a programmer. Having a released indie game under my belt showed that I have the skills to design, create, manage and finish a project, which is much more important than what it was made in.

[justinfic]

In the programmer arena you can pretty much just assume that everyone that applies is gonna have a 4-year degree. What gets you the job is what you have to set yourself apart from that, and finished/published games are the #1 way to do so.

I got my first industry job in 2005. I have a degree and was working on grad school at the time, and I wasn't even asked about that, not once. They played my game for most of my interview. 

I wouldn't discredit the importance of a degree though-- I think they don't ask about it because they just assume you're gonna have one and they know exactly what it means. I imagine they'd ask much more about a degree if you DON'T have one.

And yeah, it's tough to earn the respect of super-hardcore low level programmers if you're an indie designer-- a think a big part of that is just them being jelly that such "simple" languages and scripts can be used to create entire games, and meanwhile they're writing tens of thousands of lines of low level code on things that might not even be user-facing.

And FWIW, it was about 5-6 years for me between getting my first industry job and complete-and-utterly-jaded burnout.

[Gimym TILBERT]

to learn with who I consider masters in making games, although I don't know if I'll be able to learn Japanese.

If it's about design you would be surprise  Typical method is just brute force with the last "whim" being told to you it's the only way to do thing, that it was the idea all along (tit's not), and end up saying in interview the production was smooth and very organized to keep a straight face in front of money holder.

The great one are those who have great production process, I would advise you to deepen production management ie " how to get the sit done"

[Pirate Hearts]

I can't speak for other disciplines, but as far as programming goes, a solid knowledge of C/C++ is pretty much a requirement for AAA development. Like justinfic said, most coders in the industry have a comp sci or equivalent degree, but largely I think that's because it provides a lot of the knowledge we look for. It's certainly conceivable that a self-taught indie developer could get hired into the industry, although I tend to think this happens more for artists and designers than for coders, simply because of the  higher barrier to entry there.

On a related note, it's disappointing to me how many four-year degree programs have started focusing on managed languages like Java and C# instead of C++. I realize those languages are (presumably) easier to get started with (though in my experience, Java was a nightmare and C was a breath of fresh air by contrast), but come on. Are pointers and memory management really that scary?