Hey, programming games is my passion, and I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask this, but I have a few questions. First of all, I am enrolled in college getting my B.Sc. majoring in game programming, but I've heard from plenty of sources that game programmers are often underpaid and lose their job after a game is made to refresh. I am not worried about pay as much as I am worried about job security. Is the job stable, and if not should I pursue a different career? I mainly want to join the Elder Scrolls community, so a programmer from that field would be my main target, but anyone with knowledge feel free to let me know. Thanks.

PM Gstaff. I hear that he's an expert on these things.

I often wonder whether any of the many, MANY, people who post about their dreams of having a job at bethesda will ever make it...

What do you mean by that?

People regularly come on here saying the dream of working for beth

Ohh ok. So it's because these people rarely commit to it, not because Bethesda is ULTRA selective? It's not that I want to work for bethesda, I wouldn't mind working for Infiniti Ward or Microsoft Studios, but Bethesda is the closest game producing company, and I don't want to move to Washington or California for a job when I can stay here with family. Also, The Elder Scrolls series is my favorite, so of course that is an added benefit.

There's that, but it's mostly because they're quite selective. Todd Howard has said many many times that there's a specific culture at Bethesda you need to fit into if you're going to work there, i.e. you can't be an arrogant ass. Not saying you are, but there are plenty of people out there who are. They also hire very slowly. Their team size only increased by 30 in the few years between Oblivion's release and now, and you can bet that only a handful of jobs there are for programmers.

Honestly, this forum isn't going to help you determine how stable your job would be with Bethesda. This is a place where fans talk about the game, and developers rarely come online, other than to answer questions posted in the Ask a Dev thread or something. Plus, even if a developer did come and post in here, they aren't exactly going to tell you anything bad about their job. The best thing for you to do is either email Bethesda or call them or just submit your resume and hope for an interview, because you're not going to get any concrete answers here.

The best way to get in favor of Todd Howard is to argue relentlessly which console is better than the other.

Also, photoshopping his head on Charlie Sheen or Chuck Norris would help.

As you can see from some of the answers.



http://jobs.zenimax.com/ Have a look at that.

No dev is going to publically criticise their employer on their employer's forums, but maybe have a read through the http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1148850-meet-the-devs/ series of threads in the Skyrim forum section - they've been quite candid there and have answered several questions about working at Bethesda, and made several recommendations for would-be Bethesda devs.

I came away from those threads with a very positive impression of the developers themselves, and of the work environment at Bethesda.

Personally, I've no such aspirations. I've dabbled in low-pressure professional work for games before -- very casual small time stuff by comparison -- and didn't like it one bit. My skills go to hell as soon as I know I have to do something, and the vision isn't my own. That's just me.

Good luck with it dude!

I wouldn't mind being in charge of the Windows department....cleaning them. :tongue:

Personally it would be pretty cool to work for Bethesda. Though for me, I would want to work in the network side of things. Managing and maintaining computers/networks is what I am training for. (Got my A+ certification, and working on CCNA and Microsoft Office Specialist Certification)

I didn't know if they would answer something of that sort, but I'm not looking for a job now, I'm wondering if programming for Bethesda will pay the bills for years to come, and I won't have to worry about looking for a new job after they cleanse their programmers. Thanks.



I've already checked their listings... multiple times, but as I said above, not in for a job just yet. I'm wondering if I should switch to a more stable, guaranteed [whatever guaranteed is nowadays, of course no job is but some have higher job security] career.

There are several programmers at Bethesda who have been there for multiple games.

If you're a small studio you may hire on extra help to get through certain sections and then let them go when they've finished their job. However larger developers are able to keep everyone busy all of the time.

So how would Bethesda rank? Or would it just depend on when and how they hire me?