Do you remember the Far Side cartoons by Gary Larson? There was one with two parents watching their son playing a video game. Both parents had thought bubbles coming from their heads with dreams of classified ads listing high-paying video game testing job after high-paying video game testing job. Their dream has come true. A career in video games is a reality for today’s college graduates. Unfortunately, those video game jobs aren’t always as dreamy as they might seem. The industry is known for a high rate of burnout; however, Insomniac Games is not one of the culprits - for the past 3 years they have been in the Top 10 of HR Magazine’s List of the Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America.
Insomniac Games is an independent video game developer located in Burbank, CA. They develop games for the Playstation, Playstation 2, and Playstation 3 - including Ratchet Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Ratchet Clank, Resistance: Fall of Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Disruptor. By sticking to 5 key principles, Insomniac Games is able to make award-winning games, compete in an often ruthless industry, and keep their employees happy.
For an insider’s view on their games and what it’s like to make them for a living, we recommend that you tune into their podcast called the Full Moon Show. You should also read this article about Peter Chan, an Insomniac game tester.
So, does a company like Insomniac Games hire kids fresh out of college? Their FAQ says: “We do! We do! We are looking for talent, not just years of experience. So, even though you have only been tinkering with games in your down time, if you have the talent and drive, we do want to hear from you. We encourage students to finish their education and contact us when it is time to start paying back their student loans!”
They currently have openings in two departments. In Programming they are looking for new Game Play Programmers and Associate Tools Programmer, while in Support they’d like to hire Quality Assurance Testers, Community Leaders, and Tools Support Reps/Testers. Insomniac Games also accepts applications for unlisted positions, so don’t be afraid to send them your resume if you don’t see a position you want on their Careers page. Can we talk about their Careers page for a second? It includes a Top 10 List of reasons to work for them and mentions some pretty sweet perks. Insomniac Games has Massage Therapy Mondays and Frag Fest Fridays, while also offering a relaxed dress code and the opportunity for Nerf gun wars to break out in the office at any moment. So your job is playing video games, and you take breaks by shooting each other with Nerf guns? Nice. Check out their website for more information on Insomniac Games, it’s top notch.
Note: On April 22nd we revisited entry-level jobs at Insomniac Games.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
Insomniac Games may not make games for the Wii, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enter our contest to win one for free.
Tags: California, design, entry-level jobs, quality assurance, software development, video games
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Wow o.o That’s a pretty amazing company right there.
I have really loved this company and ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of working for them. To know that they’re one of those super rare companies who make their gamers happy as well as their employees makes me astounded. I really admire Insomniac games now
Since we wrote this post, Insomniac Games released this recruitment video. We love it when companies do stuff like this!
Hey i was wondering if Insomniac excepts people that dont have a degree in game testing. Im loking for a at home job in game testing and what better than to do what you love right? Well please someone get back to me about this. My email address is lyonsd2008@hotmail.com
Derek