GDC: A good place to job hunt?

Another job search possibility is if you can make your way to the annual Game Developers' Conference which is coming up in March. There are booths to visit, tutorials, lectures and talks to listen in on, all about making games. There's even a mini-job fair, and most companies will take resumes. Cool, right? Well, as you might expect, it's going to cost you. If you just want to wander around and look at the exhibits, it's about $150, which doesn't include finding somewhere to stay, and getting yourself to California. If you want to go to the lectures and other events, it'll cost you at least $500. If you look at it as an investment in your future, though, it's probably worth it. :-)

Another down side is that the conference is definitely geared towards developers, not consumers. If you want to have fun and see the latest games, you're better off going to E3. The GDC is all about the latest code editors, hardware and the like. There are quite a few games on display, and plenty of cool new products, but it's more about function than fun.

On a personal note, I went to the GDC my senior year of college, and gave out my resume to anyone who would accept it. When they found out I didn't have any game experience, though, most didn't give me a second look. Only two companies I talked to there followed up, neither of which led to a job, so for me it wasn't really worth it. If I could have afforded the conference events, though, I might have felt a little different.