LinkedIn Game Dev Jobs are a CATASTROPHE!
This YouTube video critiques several job postings from game development companies, highlighting questionable practices and red flags. Key points include:
Recurring Issues:
- Misleading Statistics: Companies exaggerating their reach (e.g., claiming 3.5 billion users when it likely refers to app impressions).
- Unpaid/Equity-Based Positions: Numerous postings offer equity instead of salary, often hidden until the end of the description, suggesting exploitation. The presenter emphasizes the deceptive nature of promising “equity” to attract applicants.
- Excessive Interview Processes: One company’s process involves 3.5 hours of interviews before even considering an offer, deemed excessively long and pretentious.
- Exaggerated Job Descriptions: Inflated titles and responsibilities (e.g., requiring applicants to have “3+ years of experience in years of experience”), suggesting unprofessionalism or incompetence.
- Hidden Application Processes: Companies requiring applicants to navigate to external websites instead of applying directly through LinkedIn, adding unnecessary steps. One example involves a lengthy questionnaire that gathers excessive personal information.
- Massive Salary Discrepancies: One posting shows a 4x difference in salary range, likely in Rupees, indicating extremely low pay for international workers.
- Internship Exploitation: The video criticizes the ambiguous nature of internships, where pay is not guaranteed and the duration is excessively long (e.g., a 12-month internship).
Specific Company Examples (with criticisms):
- Good Job Games: Grossly inflated user numbers, unpaid position disguised as an “opportunity”.
- Star Breeze Entertainment: Excessively long and demanding interview process.
- Hugo Boss: 12-month unpaid internship in expensive Switzerland.
- Opus Major: Complicated application process requiring navigation through a visually impressive but user-unfriendly website.
- Mom (Studio): Vague description and unclear compensation for an internship with multiple roles in one posting.
- Devop (Game Developer): Extremely wide salary range (4x difference) in Indian Rupees, resulting in potential monthly pay as low as $58 USD.
- Scans Meta: Lengthy and detailed application process disguised as a “quick questionnaire,” gaslighting applicants on salary expectations.
- Panza Solutions: Incompetent and unprofessional job description with repeated errors in the requirements section.
The overall tone of the video is critical, arguing that many game development companies are exploiting applicants through misleading job postings and unrealistic expectations. The presenter encourages viewers to be aware of these red flags and to avoid being taken advantage of.