Michelle's Portfolio

The Ideal Job!

Before diving into some job listings that appeal to me, let's quickly go over what I want from a job! For me, a job is almost like your second life and your co-workers soon become a second family, so it's super important to find a role that suits your personality and needs.

My personal job checklist:

Accessible location, close to a train station or close to home. Or maybe even potential to move!
Good incentives, goal-orientated and KPI's. And by KPI, I mean team/personal KPI's as opposed to when co-workers compete to stay at the top.
Work benefits, whether that be health wise or environment wise, knowing the company cares about their employees means the employees will care about the company!
Work/life balance
Potential for career growth because I want to grow with the company too!
Variety! Lots and lots of change, projects and growth!

#1: Senior Software Engineer - 3D Visuaisation

Link: I forgot to save the link and can't find the listing anymore :(

Pros of #1

VR/AR technology, opportunity to design and innovate new technology
Development of real world apps
Supportive/innovative team
Experience within VR, good skill to have given the advancements of technology

Cons of #1

No relocation compensation
No incentives
Lack of work benfits
Seems like it lacks personality

Essentially the role is aimed at Senior developers with lots of previous experience. The job would require strong programming skills and lots of experience within the 3D-development field. For me, this seems like an ideal job to settle down in (we're talking mid 30s or so). A job where with the opportunity to re-locate and work on a large project. I do have some concerns, as this seems quite project based. For example, once the software has been developed, then what? Therefore, despite this project and the experience and rewards it comes with, the role itself seems a bit too unabalanced.

Job Listing Rating: 7/10

#2: Software Engineer for EA Games

Link: https://www.seek.com.au/job/39550611?type=standout&searchrequesttoken=27e29a21-78d5-4dad-b209-ac168d7d1328

Pros of #2

Globally established company
Seems like an on-going, stable job with variety
Small, motivated team
Location is very close to public transport
Good incentives! Healthcare program and gym
Oh man, the incentives just keep giving...

Cons of #2

Seek rating is very low
Unsure about work/life balance, seems somewhat demanding

As you can see, definitely a much better job compared to #1. I like that the role has lots of work benefits as well as variety, and would look amazing on a resume. The role also doesn't seek a senior developer, so could potentially be a graduate position given the right experience. As listed in the ad, the requirements include: excellent C++ skills, BS in CompSci / equivalent work/portfolio experience.

Job Listing Rating: 9/10

With that in mind, in order for me to even get the job after graduating, I would need to start building up experience within the gaming development field. As C++/C# is required, setting aside time every week to start learning and practising will also be advantageous. At the core of it all, I don't believe the role itself would be too challenging to get with the main issue being lack of C++ knowledge. In order to build more on this, I think the best way is to start developing indie games via C++ to build towards my portfolio. I can also contribute towards start up companies (or try to...) and examine existing games. I may also potentially need to transfer over to B CompSci (hopefully!) or maybe to something more game-based.