What should I do?
To give some context, I’m 24 years old and at 21 I finished a game design and development program (basically a non-official master’s equivalent that lasted around a year and a half).
Ever since finishing it, I’ve been working with a team on a video game which, after a lot of ups and downs, finally seems to be moving in the right direction. We’ve built a strong team, we’re producing better quality work and making real progress. On top of that, this year I also joined another game project.
In both games, my role is producer and designer. I genuinely enjoy those positions and I like leading teams and coordinating work.
The problem is that the games industry is in a terrible state right now: very few opportunities, low pay and poor working conditions. Because I’ve been committed to these projects, I haven’t pursued jobs in established companies since I wanted to help push these games forward, which means I haven’t gained “traditional” industry experience.
My portfolio currently consists of:
These two ongoing projects
Around 3 decent projects from my studies
My internship work, where I designed the whole game structure for the project they were making at the time and was offered a Lead Game Designer role afterwards (it was basically a mobile game inspired by Archero)
So where am I going with all this?
I’m at a point where I don’t know whether to give game development one proper chance now that both projects are improving, and then try to find work in the industry afterwards (which I’d honestly love), or if I should step away and focus on studying something more stable.
The options I’ve considered are:
Telecommunications Engineering
A vocational degree in software development (DAM in Spain) plus some advanced specialization afterwards
I worry a lot about AI and also about my age. If I started this year, I’d probably finish engineering close to 30, which scares me a bit because many of my friends already have degrees and a couple of years of experience. I’ve read that entering the market at that age with no “real” experience can be risky.
Another issue is maths. I was never bad at it, but not especially gifted either, and I haven’t touched it since high school around 6 years ago. I’ve thought about taking private lessons until September, but I’m not sure that would be enough to avoid struggling massively in engineering.
Another idea was:
Finish pushing these projects during this year, delay university for one more year, and spend 2026/27 preparing properly for engineering. But again, that’s another year gone, and that also stresses me out.
I mainly think about telecommunications engineering because I like technology and, from what I’ve read, it seems less threatened by AI and has good career prospects.
Extra info:
During these years I’ve worked seasonally at an airport, so I have customer service experience and native-level Spanish and English. Sometimes I think maybe I should just get a full-time airport job and stop overthinking everything, but I’d like to aim for something more.
Basically, I’m lost.
I don’t know whether to give up something I genuinely love and seem good at in exchange for a safer future, or keep trying. And if I do step away from games, what should I study? I’ve even considered preparing for civil service exams since a huge percentage of public employees in Spain are expected to retire before 2030.
At the end of the day, I’m willing to work hard at almost anything if it means having financial stability and being happy.
Edit 1:
The game projects are unpaid. We’re starting to look for funding, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it succeeding. One team has 11 people and the other has 5, so I do have experience managing small teams.
Edit 2:
My goal with these projects isn’t to get rich or make a living from them. The main purpose is to build a serious portfolio with deeper, more professional-level productions that will eventually be released on Steam.