Hi all,
I have been looking out for a Flash/Actionscript development role for the Last 18 months but i never feel confident about myself. This is because, no matter what i seem to learn, i only ever seem to hit the tip of the iceberg.
Across the world, Flash developers meet up to talk about stuff and move in new directions. Well there is nothing like that here in Scotland. Atleast none i could find. On top of that is the fact that during university there was no like minded people and i even spammed the whole of the university at one point to see if there was any people out there. There wasnt.
So basically i dont know anyone in the industry, and no official channels available to me to get advice from employment offices or what have you. Agencies have the vast majority of jobs but even when i am being super nice, at the end of the day, agents are like sales people. They really wont spend any time offering advice because there is always another commision to earn. Unless you are suitable for a role, you have no chance of finding out who is actually hiring Flash/Actionscript developers. So even if i want to register my interest with a company… its out of my reach.
On almost a daily basis, i see roles throughout the UK on various job boards. Flash Developer, Flash Designer, Actionscript Developer, Flex Developer… I really cannot chase a contract because as much as i would like to, i am completely inexperienced. Id be as well being a window washer when i meet a client for the first time so that really makes me run for the hills.
Then the more perminant roles out there. There seems to be 4 levels of roles:
Trainee = Out of school with A levels
Junior = Perhaps a graduate or someone who knows some stuff
Mid = Someone who is comfortable building anything asked of them
Lead = Guru.
I have no idea of the expectations required from me however. So even when i apply for a junior role… i feel like a fraud. It might ask for PureMVC experience, or .Net experience and so on as well as Photoshop/Illustrator knowledge, HTML, XML, CSS and so on.
By that point, i am struggling to hit the apply button. My knowledge of HTML is limited, i understand XML but there is full books dedicated to that subject. Same with Javascript. I use photoshop to prepare assets, but rarely from a blank stage. I certainly cant make things look good from a design perspective.
When you are a Flash Developer in the industry, how is work split up between different levels of developers?
I have good knowledge of OOP and have deployed the Singleton and read about others. However, i really dont have any access to a completed game etc. For example, i enjoy box2d physics engine and i can make a snipers, cars, physics based mp3 players, but never the completed polished article therefor i have a bunch of pointless experiments on my PC, but nothing in my portfolio.
The only job i was offered but couldnt take due to location, set me a mini-brief project initially to see my skills and actually i was pretty excited to have something to work with. However its all about experience on paper when applying for a role. So that route to success is my best bet, but agencies dont do that kind of thing.
At junior level, is it expected for me to come into your office and start pumping out games/websites? Or is generally much less involved? I really want the chance to enter a company and find my bearings initially as i am really genuinly interested in finding as much as i can about the platform. At junior level, do i get the chance to do this?
The place where i am right now, is not very good at all. I aint moving forward with life like i should be. I get the questions and the looks “i dont think you are going to find a entry point, do IT support or something instead” so i am the sole defender of what i believe i know yet at the same time, im climbing a never ending hill… I dont blame people for thinking what i want is clearly not going to happen.
The problem is, it must happen.
What kind of thing should i do to put up on a web page and actually feel confident that what i have suits my level? I ALWAYS go OTT when i try to complete a piece of work for myself and end in failure, either because i cant design and it looks awful, or the framework for a game or appication, starts to hit spaghetti code. The best i can hope for outside of employment is 20 pages each on design patterns in a book i have… This clearly is simply looking out of a porthole when it comes to the bigger picture of architecture.
I am a geek at the end of the day and i enjoy thinking through problems. If i got a job as a developer, then i know it would be the job i would be best at. All other jobs have been “look at the clock every 10 mins” boring whereas when i hit my rythm, the hours pass needlessly with AS3.
I am not really sure what i am asking here, possibly for some hope or some way to guage what is expected from me.
In the recent past, the kind of advice i have been offered has been “if you are a good developer, you will get hired”, which is true, but its hardly the specific advice of a lifetime.
I guess i have started to come to terms with maybethat given my lack of contacts and confidence and even ability, i will never get into the industry so if you believe this to be the case then please load up the gun, im happy to take the bullet.
Cheers for reading this. All comments welcome.
