Game Development as a Career

[T-Roy]

Hey Guys
I'm thinking about going into game development as my career and I want to learn the programming and the arts and animation so I can be more versatile when looking for a job. I'm currently attending a community college in the Virgin Islands and it doesn't benefit me too much. This semester i'm learning visual basic and I'm planning to drop out by next semester and i'll look for a job. Now the real question is when following my career what should I do? I was thinking about doing online courses for game development, but then i read that you should learn programming and arts separately instead of game development. Aside from that can I do both art and programming online or should I go to a physical college?

[DestinyAmazon]

I don't know what they teach you on colleges, but I learnt more from the internet than in my school. Before creating a game, you should learn how to program, you have tons of guides in internet about that. In internet you can find anything you want, and if you feel that the college doesn't benefit you, then start studying from the internet. (And I don't think you should drop out from college, but this is already your decission)

[Pie]

Hey Guys
I'm thinking about going into game development as my career and I want to learn the programming and the arts and animation so I can be more versatile when looking for a job. I'm currently attending a community college in the Virgin Islands and it doesn't benefit me too much. This semester i'm learning visual basic and I'm planning to drop out by next semester and i'll look for a job. Now the real question is when following my career what should I do? I was thinking about doing online courses for game development, but then i read that you should learn programming and arts separately instead of game development. Aside from that can I do both art and programming online or should I go to a physical college?

You should understand Game Design first before development.
You do not need to have programming experience to create games nowadays. For example, Unreal Engine 4 has the Blueprints system which doesn't really need you to code.
Right now I actually have a minor in the game field at the university I attend lol.

You'll have issues getting a job in today's economy without a proper college degree. I recommend you just go finish one, but make sure you attend a college/university that offers the game design/development field of study.
Also, it would be helpful to join a college club/group during that time to make games; it'll look good on your resume.
I recommend you look up online courses/tutorials online for either arts or programming; try to focus on one that you like more. Trying to focus on both in games is too much, you'll most likely need to work with specialized people to make a game, unless you want to make a small game.

[T-Roy]

I don't know what they teach you on colleges, but I learnt more from the internet than in my school. Before creating a game, you should learn how to program, you have tons of guides in internet about that. In internet you can find anything you want, and if you feel that the college doesn't benefit you, then start studying from the internet. (And I don't think you should drop out from college, but this is already your decission)

Someone told me, I should just get a degree in CS and learn game dev related stuff online. The part where I drop out i guess you can look at it as transferring, but I haven't asked the staff at my college how all that works, so I'm a bit clueless on how it works. I said drop out because I don't want to continue going to that college, I'll get a job to build up my finances, then I'll go to another college (or an online college), so the term "drop out" sounded appropriate lol #bignoob

[CricketKills]

Transferring is really easy. But it seems hard at the time. If you really want to get out of the school you're in, it'll fly by. Figure out what school you want to go to. Click their transfer student link. Note when you have to transfer all your transcripts. Fill out their form, apply for residency, do all the "stuff" you pretty much had to do to get into your now school, and hope you get in.

Also, don't say you're dropping out if you're really just transferring. You'll freak people out.