as you know, finding a job in audio is not an easy task. but i did it - after 75 customized applications, some completed recruitment tests and more than two years of being unemployed i finally did it.

its a big company where i mostly make sounds and short jingles for games - sometimes even some music. but it's very random. game designers barge in the door requesting sounds for various games completely on a random basis. sometimes i have to deal with four different games a week and really can't focus on a game or on actually designing sound. i often have to search the existing libraries and just select old sounds for re-use cause i don't have time to actually create something.

but this job is completely safe - i could work there until retirement - this company will always be there and their games are good.

recently i got a job offer from another company (which i totally was not expecting after the years of nothingness): creating music for games. this job would be mostly music production with the ability to actually focus on that. but this company is small and jobs at small game company tend to be insecure (and their games are really bad, i don't know how long their gonna make it).

making music for life is my dream - but after my desperate search for a job in this business i got a little scared of jumping into insecurity again.

what would you do? any thoughts?

 

Keep the secure job and try to work with the 2nd company individually on a contract to contract basis.
If you live in Europe keep the secure job as currently tensions in Europe are as high as ever due to the illegal migrant invasion.
Schengen borders have fallen,borders are closing,armies on borders,the economy is about to receive a huge blow.

 

There's such thing as taking a calculated risk, and then there's shooting yourself in the foot.

Based solely upon what you've said, I'd suspect that this 2nd job would be shooting yourself in the foot. Even if this company finds a way to stay around, if their games are no good then you're guilty by association.

How many people are going to say, "Man, Whack 'Em Moleman VI was really bad, but the music was killer!"

Compare that with being able to put down sound design for L.A. Noire on your resume. Even if your part was relatively minor, if you're tied in with a large and successful studio with well-received titles then it's something to brag about and that can lead to bigger and better things.

 

The cool thing would be to say "follow your dreams and do what you love". Reality says do what ever you have to do to make a living. I don't know what your responsibilities are (family, mortgage, rent, etc.) but unless you are single and live with your parents, stick with the sure thing.

 

The most logical is to keep the -more safe- job you already have and try to work with the other guys on dedicated projects/contracts as it was suggested previously. The thing is games are developed by teams and most companies will want you working with them at their premises usually 9-12hrs a day or even longer when you have to keep up with deadlines, so i find the chance of doing both unlikely. And to be the "devil's advocate", there really is no safe job on the private sector and also small companies become big and vice versa. And man, you only live once. I would follow my heart's calling, given of course you can live with finding yourself unemployed once again later on.
Cheers

 

I guess another thing to consider is your life position right now. Are you single/married/engaged? Do you have a safety net or savings or investments/assets? Do you have kids or other dependents? Are you in debt or have a mortgage?

Sorry to sound like a boring lecturer, but what is around you and who is around you make a huge impact in your decision. If you are young, single, have no children or commitments, I'd say take the risk. I can tell you that I have had a couple of opportunities where I would have gone for a risk and the job/venture of my dreams, but I have kids and a family to which I contribute and support. Had I been single, I would have jumped at it with both feet.

Anyway, my grain of sand there

Whatever you go for, best of luck mate.

 

don't switch. as the previous poster said, if the game sucks bad, no one's gonna remember the music. this is true. stay with good games, where your input, even if little, will be noticed as a part of the whole great package. even if you design only sounds, don't underestimate it. as a gamer in my early days, I will always remember playing first Silent Hill. the game is cult classic and needs no introduction, but it's not gameplay I remembered so well. I remember I walked in some room, I think it was a school, and it wasn't a scary monster or anything in that room, no, it was just a sound. One sound. The fucking creepiest shit ever and it freaked me out so bad I quit playing for some time, because I really didn't want to know where that sound came from. It just fucked me up. And I just said fuck, I'm out. of course I went back and finished the game, but this sound, it stuck with me for years. and that's to the genius of Akira Yamaoka, I suppose. so don't underestimate your input. sounds count, sounds make a difference, sounds add to the atmosphere and setting of the game. good luck to you.

 

I would say , go with your gut feeling.

I look back at some life changing decisions i've made that didn't feel like that at the moment.Turned out to be how it was supposed to be. Take a risk if you think it's a smart risk.

 

work as a contractor for that other company, an see where it goes...

safe for You, good for them.

 

"and their games are really bad, i don't know how long their gonna make it"

Well if this is true, this is most valuable key factor for your decision, which should be easy in that case... Stay with safe job and if you feel, you can't stop thinking about yor dreams, work hard, learn and search further in spare time for better alternatives. There is nothing wrong if you follow your dream and you sometime trade between safe jobs and dream jobs, but that doesn't mean we should be completely irresponsible and overlook pure logic. Also remember, good opurtunities come with hard work, they don't come out of air, so if you are good enough someone will sooner or later noticed your work(of course if you'll share it somehow), if not, you will still have your safe job.

 

Keep the safe job and as suggested, perhaps seek contractual work with the other job.
Having consistent, stable income and job security is crucial.

 

Last edited: Feb 24, 2016

"this job is completely safe - i could work there until retirement" That's what the people at Tower Records said. No company is safe anymore. Not even companies like Sony. They can go on large layoff's and then you are screwed.

Do you have a wife and kids? If no, see if you can cut your hours back at the company you work for. Play music the rest of the time. Problem solved.

 

Do what you love as long as it doesn't hurt your children. That is the only rule.

 

What about sticking to the "safer" job and making whatever music you like in your spare time?

 

Rob Hubbard, Chris Hülsbeck, Michael Land, Nobuo Uematsu, Koji Kondo, Tim Follin - all the greatest game music composers never ever did write music for a game that was crap. Don't do it.
Your name will be associated with those crappy games and your reputation and word of mouth, paired with delivering a great product is the only way to make a successful career in music.

Take the "safe" job and work on your carreer as a musician in your spare time. If you're dedicated to making it in music, opportunities will come. Until then, deliver solid work, don't put all your energy into it, and be glad you can build up a skillset that will be the foundation for your professional solo career and actually getting paid for it. Working as a sound lackey in such a big company will teach you an invaluable skill set. Getting work done, kicking your perfectionism overboard and settle with satisfactory results in order to finish the job, handling pressure, even if it's impossible to focus solely on one task - those are skills which are worth their weight in gold. From my observation, those are the skills that decide wether you can make it as a professional musician/composer/producer or if you'll stay amateur, tinkering with the perfect sound, never being able to finish the song.

All the best!

p.s. if you need inspiration on how to tackle your professional career as an artist I suggest reading "the war of art" by steve preston. In my opinion the best book on the right mindset for "going pro".

 

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 24, 2016

fuckn someone give me a job related to making music and taking a hard wank while composing a soundtrack for a game right now!!!!

I DEMAND IT FROM YOU FUCKS!

 

Come on, you already have McNeal!

 

Sell your house, shoes, tv, typewriter and move to las vegas...

 

Big company vs small company ..... either you get along with the stress factor on your present job where they make quality games and have a steady income, or you change job to a small developer that makes bad games and where there´s no job security!

How long have you been imployed in your present job? ...... If the job is brand new I guess you should consider being patient and see if you could change things over time for the better - both for stress and contents of your work!

Cheers

 

thanks for all the input.i read each and every post. i think i'll need to add some things: i am single, have no debts and no one to care for. the small company would be near my hometown (i relocated for my current job) where i could live with my brother or parents if everything goes south. so there is a safety net - it just would make me feel miserable to be unemployed again (and i really want to emphasize that).

i also want to add that the small company also produces other software stuff, games are only 40% of them or something, so they have a somewhat steady income despite of their games being bad.

i'm employed for half a year now. i even told them i want to make more music and need the ability to focus on stuff - end even got some sort of support (offer to make the music for upcoming games). but i somehow doubt that's reality. i barley have time to complete all sound design tasks at hand - and they surely won't go away just because i take on making a track.