My wanderlust is flaring up again, and since I’m not going anywhere for the near future, I’d like to indulge it by finding out people’s experiences or advice with working overseas. The role of a TA is well known that I don’t think it is an issue finding work in NA and UK- are the rest of Europe, and Australia, any different? Do they actively hire TA’s in general (with the same rate or intent as NA studios do), or do you have to convince them of a need first?
I’m also extremely interested in less ‘Western’ studios- I’d like to move (or think I’d like to move) some place exotic to my white Western sensibilities. How is it finding work in India, China, Phillipines, Latin America. How is it finding work in other emerging game hotspots, wherever they are? How is it finding work as a Westerner/American in these places?
I’m not sure how many can answer these questions with practical experiences but I’d like to hear opinions on it anyway.
[QUOTE=sl4ppy;3268]I too would be interested in hearing about the hoops one has to jump through in order to move to and work in Europe or anywhere else for that matter…
ie: is there a European equivalent of a green card, etc.?[/QUOTE]
In EU you need a visa to stay longer then 90 days and during that stay you are not allowed to work. To get a work visa i am pretty sure you need a job offering already and bank statements as proof of financial independency. I would talk to the embassy of the specific country for more info though.
And here in Sweden i don’t think the title TA is that widespread. I am not sure about the rest of the Nordic countries but i don’t think there are any specific TA jobs.
I’m getting ready to move to Japan in two months. My first hurdle is the language. I have a spouse visa in the works, so living there for an extended time isn’t going to be an issue. For me to get a job at a game company, I need to be JLPT 2 at least.
Depending on a type of visa. A work visa is that your employer is your sponsor, so financial independence isn’t needed. If you moved there on your own to look for work, you need to be ballin’ by their standards.
This is a big generalization so it won’t be like this everywhere in Europe, but I’ve found that Europe suffers far less from the un-dead infestation (zombies mainly) then i.e. North America. Specifically Western-Europe has a low zombie count.
Perhaps it is the climate, not sure.
Though the more East you go in Europe, you’ll see a significant increase in vampires.
Luckily the kind they have in Europe (unlike what they show in the chick-flick Twilight) mostly moves about at night. So, although they are much faster then zombies and harder to avoid, as long as you work mainly during the day and stay indoors, things are quite manageable.
The U.K. being a bit of an exception as they have regular outbreaks of various viri that turn half the population into flesh eating undead.
I’m not sure about China or Japan. I’ve heard a rumor about giant robots/creatures occasionally wandering around cities in Japan, but I’ve never seen concrete evidence.
I find T.A.'s do not take this type of information into account enough when applying for jobs overseas.
To work in Australia you need a work visa. Companies can sponsor you to get the visa but it can take up to 6 months to get it approved so be prepared to a long wait.
I don’t think I’ve seen an Australian company specifically advertise a job for the role of TA, but I’m sure if you sent a resume along most would be extremely interested. In fact send it to me if you’re serious.
Well I’ve decided to start speaking to my father again, and hopefully I can get my Greek citizenship- that should allow me to travel and work in the EU with far less or no restrictions? I’d still like to work somewhere more exotic right now, but we’ll see how I feel when it actually comes time- it’ll be nice to be able to work in the EU without many hoops to jump through.
David, thanks for the info about the wait and hiring tendencies. I’ll hold off sending you my resume for now, I’ll be here at least until ship or death march :scared:
Yeah, Greek citizenship will grant you the right you to work without restrictions anywhere in the EU. It’s still totally doable without it, but you’d be looking at visas and work-permits on a country-by-country basis then.
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Apply for a ‘normal’ Tier 1 visa, usually under the ‘skilled worker’ category. In order to qualify for a Tier 1 visa you need to meet certain criteria including previous salary, education level etc etc. These can be valid for up to 4 years, are usually very easy to renew and allow freedom of movement between employers. (http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/inf26pbsskilledworker)
Get an employer to sponser a regular work permit. These are valid for two years. This process gives the studio more paperwork so a Tier 1 is always better if possible. The studio will have to register as a sponsor with the Home Office (central govt dept.), then prove that they have reasonably exhausted all normal methods to try and find someone who is already in the UK. This can be quite time consuming for the studio. Unlike the Tier 1, you would be tied to the employer that sponsored your work permit unless you can find another company prepared to sponsor you. (http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/inf13workpermitholders#Q1)
Alternatively, if you have, or can acquire dual citizenship which includes any of the following countries, then you can work in the UK with no need for a visa: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
From what I heard , South Korea is good place to work if you are prepared to make some extensive network. Almost everyone is hired in the basis of “I know this guy who knows another guy and he is good with this and that”. As for the outsiders if you can bring that out side “connection” they value that. As far as I know TA is very scare in that area and if you can get in there you should be treated nicely. But if you are the type who likes to stay in the dark corner and stare at your monitor 24/7 then you will be hard to fit in.
I am South Korean myself and I would love to go there and work there some time in my life.
i moved from uk to oz, work sorted it out thru an migration agency. The brisbane games industry took a hit the last year with 2 big offices laying off staff (Pandemic and THQ) but theres plenty of other companies in oz. I know thru contacts that TA’s are in high demand over here as well.
I’ve been working in Germany (From the USA) as a Technical Artist for over a year now, and I must say the process was easier than I thought it would be. The only major hiccup I saw was that it took over three months for my visa to be finalized and was able to work (its German policy to search for a local match before granting a foreigner a visa). My employer did however help me through the entire process including registering with the city and state, applying for the visa, translating, and even locating a flat.
Singapore is easy to score work at… visas are even easier… its a small island in the middle of Sth east asia… so you can satisfy ur travel bug by hopping around the area…