Hi all, seeking advice on a career change.
I’m a 35 year old Houdini FX artist in Toronto, working in animation for the past 5 years. Needless to say, not many job opportunities in this industry right now.. I’ve been getting paid the same salary for the past 3 years and I’m thinking I need to take matters into my own hands.
I’ve realized that I love the technical side of Houdini more than the creative side, what can be achieved using vex, linear algebra, control flow etc. I have some development experience building full stack web apps for fun, and I’m thinking.. considering all my experience and interests, pursuing a job in Graphics Programming makes sense for me as a next step in my career - I’m not particularly interested in working in games but if that’s where the work is that’s where I’ll go. I’ve seen postings for companies like snapchat or other mobile or web apps that require rendering engineers to work on various in-app features, and that seems more interesting to me but I’m not picky.
Anyway, I’ve messed around with some entry level stuff, did Raytracing in One Weekend, did some of LearnOpenGL, got my feet wet with C++ and Rust, and I’m really enjoying it… but I’m not sure what the best way to go about pursuing this career change is. I don’t have a CS degree, and I don’t think I afford to spend 4 years doing a bachelors degree - let alone a masters degree - before even getting into the portfolio stage, on top of learning the more difficult aspects of the field (Vulkan, Metal etc).
I’ve seen posts on here before about private programs or bootcamps that prep you for a career as a tech-artist. I’m wondering, does anyone know of similar programs, maybe 1 or 2 years long, that focus on jump starting a career as a graphics programmer? Is it necessary to have a masters/bachelors to get into the field - or would I have any hope of landing an interview with a killer portfolio?
any information or advice would be helpful, and hopefully some encouragement if at all possible,
thanks
S
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A few years back, I over heard our rendering lead discussing applicants with certifications from game developer schools, I’ll paraphrase what he said, originally posted here
“The ones who come from schools will have a certain set of skills, but you can just coast through most school. I’ll take the person who taught themselves to program graphics in their bedroom, just because they were curious. Because you know they have both the intelligence and the tenacity to figure stuff out.”
Almost any degree requirement is followed with “..or equivalent work experience” - in other words demonstrated skill is what matters.
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That’s good advice, in the end it really does come down to what you know.
Having said that, in this market I do think some kind of certification or course would be beneficial.
Today I was looking at the OMSCS at Georgia Tech and wondering if that would be good for getting an internship/foot in the door somewhere. Obviously I would have to study the graphics pipeline on my own still to get a portfolio together.
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Excellent points, for sure. As mentioned, actual capacity is key. And, you’ll need to supplement whatever “formal” paths you take, with your own studies and exercises.
That said, OMSCS is an extraordinary program. As far I know, there’s not a more convenient and economical way to get a world-class CS graduate’s degree. I hope that the industry follows Georgia Tech’s lead on this. The old model of brick-and-mortar enclaves already isn’t sustainable for subjects like CS. I went through the Computing Systems specialization, but I’m sure that the Computer Graphics track is similarly top-notch. It’s a huge time commitment (even the best schools come with a lot of overhead), and the classes are tough, but it’s well worth the while if you’re looking to secure the degree. If my experience is any indication, you’ll also learn a tremendous amount and meet some pretty incredible folks along the way.
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Thanks for your response and encouragement!
Yes it seems like a great program, I’m just praying that I’ll be able to get an internship in Toronto on the strength of the program and my previous work experience. I wonder if I should spend some time building up a bit of a portfolio before I begin the masters to have something to show for myself as an applicant…
How long did it take you to complete the program?
I went through the program just about as slowly as one could (one class per term for ten consecutive terms). 
Given my fortunate positioning at the time as an individual with a family and a full-time job (and taking into account my level of industriousness), this was an optimal pace for me. It sounds like you might be under more time pressure than I was.