Irrlicht Engine

Education is pretty important but I have to say I learn more at home than I do at school, except in Algebra II class.

You have to look here monkey:

http://www.gamedev.net/gamejobs/

I would love to believe what Spintz said is true, and in most cases it probably is because he is a man that knows what he is talking about.

But in that link you can see most companies demand a "BSci or equivelant"

Hmm come to think of it some say "4 or 5 years experience in the field or BSci" or something similar, also the equivelant can mean experience in the field also. So it probably is true (Hopefully... ) I am going to start College (University) here this year, and Im going to take Law. Maybe there is a job for a game programming lawyer?

(PS If what Spintz said is true then I can focus on my laywer degree instead of doing Law and CompSci at the same time like I was planning, and still maybe get a programming job!.....hmmm, nice )

EDIT: I just took a look and all one company wanted was 2 years experience in C++ and links to any samples (Samples are good dont forget!), they say they are an equal opportuniy employer

I'm planning on attending a collage that specializes in Game Programming and Game Development, offering both a 4 and 5 year bachelor of computer science courses. Digipen. 90% of their graduates are hired by Nintendo the day they graduate (or week thereafter ).

THAT is a collage you'd want to go to for computer programming. you should see some of the games their students make too, its crazy. Almost all of them are near-professional quality. The entire course is custom tailored for game programmers. Heck, they even have "Mythology for the game designer" as a first year english course!

Can't wait to get in there

I noticed a lot of people in this thread seem to think a computer science or software engineering degree is about programming.
That is far off base- Yes you do learn how to program in a wide variety of languages, but if that's all you learnt you might as well have gone to a tech school advertised on tv. No, you learn the science behind it- the time tested and true theory's and methodology's that will remain in use for more then five years. whats the point of mastering java for two years at a tech school when in 5, no one will be using it? Two of my three hundred level computer science classes don't actually involve a single line of code- and then for what I consider my hardest class this semester (operating systems) we have to design and build an entire OS from the ground up in four months- and really, it is just assumed you have the technical programming knowledge and the class only covers concepts. (In fact they don't care what language you do it in, because each language is just a different way to convey the same logic. )

There is so much more beyond programming that goes into computer software, and its an eye opening experience to learn under true masters of the field. I also feel I benefited as a person from being forced to take classes I had originally not been interested in such as philosophy and discreet math.

Long story short, I guess it depends on what you are after- for me it has been a greatly rewarding experience.
It's not for everyone, but if you have the desire to learn and the means to do so- I recommend going into university to fulfill that thirst for knowledge, and not for a piece of paper at the end.

And you're not the only one. Judging from my experience, i'd say choose a college degree ANYTIME. No matter how useless/difficult you may find it, you'll regret it if you don't at least try.
It all depends on how courses are organized: for example, here in Switzerland, all technical degrees last 4 years. First two are the same for everyone: Algebra, Statistics, Physics, Logics, Basic Electronics, Basic Programming, Algorithms and one extra course, which you can choose between a very long list, ranging from arts, to archeology to history, you name it. From third year, all degrees still have Advanced Maths (for lack of a proper translation) and specific courses (Robotics, Mechanical Design, System Programming,...). Last year is project based: one project per semester, with a final BIG one for the degree. So, it's some sort of "introduction" to the working world (which is what a college should really be in the first place): of course drops out are frequent, especially because exams are done only once per year and you can repeat them only twice, then you're out, but those who go through it unscarred are REALLY good engineers. I did pass the first year no problem, but then dropped out and came back home when my father passed away: I finished my degree in a somewhat more "practical" school, same method but three years only.
Now I'm working for one of the biggest companies of the region, earning a good salary, about to sign for an appartment of my own (20-years bond) enjoying life with my other half. Getting through all of it wasn't easy (self-payed studies) but the results are HIGHLY satisfactory: everyhing I've got is MINE in the real sense of the world. I didn't "study by heart" and did prove what my strong fields are to others but more importantly to myself.

@blackhole, that sounds really good actually. I never really wanted to go with a professional company or anything but the classes sound actually useful to my needs and such.

@all, thanks for all your advice, it really got me thinking on the right track

in my country you wont get great job if you dont attend university (except if you make your own business). besides, there must be something scores more than if you dont.

digipen?....hmmm i wish i could attend it. i had a dream to be enrolled there, but I am in nowhere country of indonesia, dont know how to even get to USA with enough budget and knowledge...so here i am, studying in one of national university. computer is just a specialization in electrical engineering here, so i have to take electrical machine class, electronic class, even religion education and citizenship! what the...

oh btw university student in my country dont party much (is that like in american pie?)

but i hope people here can be objective like yours (judging someone by his/her skill, not by the degree)

Get the degree if you can.
My experience has been that with a 2 year degree in another field I was able to work my way into programming jobs but alot of doors are shut because of the 4 year degree requirement of many of the best companies to work for.

can you say you are a diverse programmer (databases, scripting, assembly, networking, design patterns, data structures, documentation, project management, OS programming, and more)? if so, skip the degree and start writing sample code.

even if you go to college, you will have to do learning on your own. you could go to a trade school like full sail and you may learn everything you need for games, but then you wont get the solid grounding in computer science.

is it worth the money? with a good comp sci degree, the entire world of computer software is open to you. the same cant be said for "game specific" schools. but it's not just about the money. getting a degree is not easy. and im sure anyone who has a degree will recognize your achievement over a kid who dropped out of highschool and has been a rebel coder for the last 5 years. It really says something about character.

so lets look at the pros and cons...
--------------------------------------
college pros:
-proof you can achieve goals
-gives you a broad knowledgebase
-forces you to work hard
-contacts, contacts, contacts
-FUN

college cons:
-expensive
-long... 4 years
-------------------------------------
trade school pros:
-fast, focused learning
-forces you to work hard
-short... 1-2 years

trade school cons:
-still expensive
-not so much fun
-no breadth of knowledge
---------------------------------------------
no higher education pros:
-time, lots of time

no higher education cons:
-good luck convincing anyone you can do anything other than flip burgers
-----------------------------------------------

plus uh... i dunno if anyone told you... but college is awesome.


spintz: its funny you should mention that you'd hire someone that knows M&S... and then you post a link to ubalt. ubalt actually has a game develpment program that is pretty poor. i wouldnt recommend anyone go there for that.