How do you take a passion for playing games and turn that into a career making games? During this two hour FREE event, Jim Whitehead will introduce students (grades 7-12), educators, SCWorks members, etc., to the educational programs and career options in computer games and interactive media. California is home to some of the largest and most successful games companies including Electronic Arts, Blizzard, Roblex, Zynga, Sony Playstation, Cryptic Studios and many more. Several colleges offer degree programs focused on the major elements of game creation, including game and level design, game programming, 2D and 3D artwork, visual effects, sound effects and music, and more. Landing a job in the games industry is challenging and highly competitive. The event will also cover adjacent careers, such as web development, mobile app development, and virtual reality modeling, which are also open to students who study games in college.

In the last hour of the event, a panel of current and former game design students from UC Santa Cruz will describe their current experiences studying games, and how they successfully made the transition from college to games industry. Learn more about this event.