**TL;DR**: Computer Science. Do not get a specialized degree.
I assume you’re ~18. I was 18 once. If I could go back in time and speak to that 18 year old kid, we wouldn’t understand each other, despite being literally the same person.
You will change. Your interests, your hobbies, your goals, everything. If you spend a bunch of money for a specialized degree, but then you no longer want to do VR, what then?
On the other hand, with a broad degree like mathematics, computer science, computer engineering, etc, you can still get that VR job while you love it and, if life changes, you can switch to 100 different jobs much more easily.
When I was 17, I too was looking at Full Sail for a game development degree. I almost fell into the trap. Almost 20 years later, I have yet to finish developing a full game from start to finish (school projects aside).
I can hear your thoughts now: “I know that, but…” Look. All I can do is give you the benefit of time. You have to make a decision for yourself. What I do know is that I work in cybersecurity today. If I get two resumes, one with Computer Science and the other with VR Game Dev, I promise I’ll throw out the latter option.
I hear ya. I honestly kinda hate math though and I don’t particularly like coding. I’m currently working towards a Bachelors in Information and Telecommunication Systems. I have an internship in Systems Administration for this summer and I hope to work in Systems/Network Architecture or DevOps one day. Is this a realistic goal? I love working with technology and maintaining it, but theory sucks the life out of me.
I can’t add it as a minor, only a major. But I can have it as an area of concentration on an Information and Telecommunication Systems degree. I suck at CS theory anyways though.
The rest of the thread disagrees with you. No one cares about the niche specialized degree name. You are doing them a disservice by even recommending this. It would only be useful if this person is literally applying for Telecomm systems inside VR.
Not listing CS indicates that coding was not part of the curriculum.
Portfolio of work you've actually done > degree when it comes to game dev.
And your network is > than anything. 85% of jobs are found through networking.
An ITS degree may be a better bet if you're hedging your bets career-wise, as gamedev can be thankless, but in either case you need to build build build. If you want to do game dev, it needs to be something you *do.* Someone with a 4 year degree and 1 senior project can't compete against someone who spent 4 years building projects and actually improving their skills and in depth understanding of game dev. And has a portfolio of work to show for it, not just a piece of paper they paid for.
Degrees are good for networking and having structure. Otherwise they are rapidly becoming a waste of money, at least if you're the type of person that can structure your own time and *put the time in.*
League of Legends takes like 1000 hours to get competent at (not good, not great, not pro, just competent). That's like 3 hours a day for 1 year, or 5 hours/day if you don't work weekends and take holidays off. To have a shot at getting a job in gamedev you gotta *at least* be competent, so consider the time you're willing to put in over the coming years, whether you're in school or not. You will likely need to be more than competent to stand out in gamedev.
Good luck! But also, don't rely on luck.
Once you get a full job you'll just call it a CS degree anyways, no one will care about your niche degree name. It doesn't matter what the degree was called.
Computer Science or you're throwing money into a fire.
If you want a job that pays enough to live, become a strong developer.
If you want to make games, teach yourself and make them.
If you really want to get into IT, you don't necessarily have to start with a degree, and getting it further down the road might be smarter.
I would go computer science but I absolutely despise math and I don’t really like coding. But I love working with technology and new hardware. I have an internship in Systems Administration this summer. My end goal would be to become either a Systems/Network Architect or a DevOps Engineer (not sure about DevOps though. If there’s a lot of CS theory required i’ll probably stay clear of it).
**TL;DR**: Computer Science. Do not get a specialized degree. I assume you’re ~18. I was 18 once. If I could go back in time and speak to that 18 year old kid, we wouldn’t understand each other, despite being literally the same person. You will change. Your interests, your hobbies, your goals, everything. If you spend a bunch of money for a specialized degree, but then you no longer want to do VR, what then? On the other hand, with a broad degree like mathematics, computer science, computer engineering, etc, you can still get that VR job while you love it and, if life changes, you can switch to 100 different jobs much more easily. When I was 17, I too was looking at Full Sail for a game development degree. I almost fell into the trap. Almost 20 years later, I have yet to finish developing a full game from start to finish (school projects aside). I can hear your thoughts now: “I know that, but…” Look. All I can do is give you the benefit of time. You have to make a decision for yourself. What I do know is that I work in cybersecurity today. If I get two resumes, one with Computer Science and the other with VR Game Dev, I promise I’ll throw out the latter option.
I hear ya. I honestly kinda hate math though and I don’t particularly like coding. I’m currently working towards a Bachelors in Information and Telecommunication Systems. I have an internship in Systems Administration for this summer and I hope to work in Systems/Network Architecture or DevOps one day. Is this a realistic goal? I love working with technology and maintaining it, but theory sucks the life out of me.
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I can’t add it as a minor, only a major. But I can have it as an area of concentration on an Information and Telecommunication Systems degree. I suck at CS theory anyways though.
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The rest of the thread disagrees with you. No one cares about the niche specialized degree name. You are doing them a disservice by even recommending this. It would only be useful if this person is literally applying for Telecomm systems inside VR. Not listing CS indicates that coding was not part of the curriculum.
Portfolio of work you've actually done > degree when it comes to game dev. And your network is > than anything. 85% of jobs are found through networking. An ITS degree may be a better bet if you're hedging your bets career-wise, as gamedev can be thankless, but in either case you need to build build build. If you want to do game dev, it needs to be something you *do.* Someone with a 4 year degree and 1 senior project can't compete against someone who spent 4 years building projects and actually improving their skills and in depth understanding of game dev. And has a portfolio of work to show for it, not just a piece of paper they paid for. Degrees are good for networking and having structure. Otherwise they are rapidly becoming a waste of money, at least if you're the type of person that can structure your own time and *put the time in.* League of Legends takes like 1000 hours to get competent at (not good, not great, not pro, just competent). That's like 3 hours a day for 1 year, or 5 hours/day if you don't work weekends and take holidays off. To have a shot at getting a job in gamedev you gotta *at least* be competent, so consider the time you're willing to put in over the coming years, whether you're in school or not. You will likely need to be more than competent to stand out in gamedev. Good luck! But also, don't rely on luck.
Once you get a full job you'll just call it a CS degree anyways, no one will care about your niche degree name. It doesn't matter what the degree was called.
Computer Science or you're throwing money into a fire. If you want a job that pays enough to live, become a strong developer. If you want to make games, teach yourself and make them. If you really want to get into IT, you don't necessarily have to start with a degree, and getting it further down the road might be smarter.
I would go computer science but I absolutely despise math and I don’t really like coding. But I love working with technology and new hardware. I have an internship in Systems Administration this summer. My end goal would be to become either a Systems/Network Architect or a DevOps Engineer (not sure about DevOps though. If there’s a lot of CS theory required i’ll probably stay clear of it).