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Octocrook
01-05-2004, 08:02 PM
As my mom was looking through the paper yesterday for a job, she noticed an ad from Rockstar (yes, the GTA company) for programmers of various sorts, one being audio, and it specifically mentioned having a deep understanding of MIDI (which at the time I equivocated to my MIDI sequencing experience). This had me excited all night, and I was determined to make up a nice resume and cover letter and even get my old Electronic Music Studio teacher to be a reference/recommendation.

Well, on their site, they have: (comments in **)

"ROCKSTAR SAN DIEGO - SYSTEM-LEVEL AUDIO PROGRAMMER
Rockstar San Diego is looking for a system-level audio programmer. The qualified candidate's primary role would be to implement and maintain cross-platform audio systems and tools that fulfill the functional and technical requirements of the entire studio. This includes both new games as well as games currently under development. The candidate can also expect to be involved in the creation and documentation of audio systems for the next generation of game consoles *yowza*. This is an ideal opportunity for someone with a solid audio software background *not me, though I could undoubtedly learn* and a strong desire to apply this knowledge to the games industry.

The ideal candidate will have:

- A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent *which I don't have yet, and my degree will be math*
- Demonstrated proficiency in C, C++, and optionally DSP assembly with at least 3 years of professional experience writing system level audio code **my proficiency in C and C++ is very fucking minor, and I certain'y don't know shit about DSP nor have 3 years professional experience in writing system level audio code**
- A solid understanding of digital signal processing *nope* and/or MIDI *hooray! ...well...sequencing and converting to wav, at least*
- Knowledge of game console hardware architectures (primarily Sony PS2 and Microsoft XBox) *yea right...not only do I not follow the architectures of game systems, but I haven't even played either of those 2 systems*
- Familiarity with (or willingness to learn) PlayStation 2 EE or IOP assembly *willingness to learn...yep...maybe*
- Ability to abstract disjoint platform features into a clear and logical API *yea whatever*
- Strong math skills including trigonometry and vectors *so their "strong mathematics" mentioned in the classified, mentioned before the specializations, falls into the 2nd to last slot on here? Thanks a lot, Rockstar!*
- Self-motivated with a strong work ethic *christ...I don't even know anymore*

Desirable skills:

- Experience writing, porting, and/or optimizing perceptual audio decoders (MP3, Vorbis, etc.) *whatever*
- Experience with predictive audio coding algorithms such as CELP or ADPCM *...whatever*
- Previous game experience and a passion for playing and making great games *golly wolly...this must be the job for me! /sarcasm*

Please email resumes to HR@rockstarsandiego.com."

Should I even fucking bother? I know companies train people, but they'd have a lot of training to do. I mean it doesn't hurt to try, but jeez...anyone with an ounce of audio programming experience would beat me out. Oh well...teaches me to get my hopes up about a job.

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SharkESP
01-05-2004, 09:15 PM
Yes go fucking try for it. You've got nothing to lose and alot of potential ass to kick!

<P ID="signature">Peace Sells, but who's buyin? - Dave Mustaine</P>

Danoz
01-05-2004, 10:52 PM
always give it a shot, and good luck!

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punjman
01-05-2004, 11:48 PM
I agree with the other two people that replied before I did. The worst Rockstar can do is call you and say "No thanks".

You've got nothing to lose. Go for it, and put some good music in GTA5!

!P

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shawn
01-06-2004, 03:03 AM
Go for it, even if they don't give you that job doesn't mean that there aren't other possibilities like just simply composing the basic midi music or something similiar to that, hell they might be looking to dump someone else and hire you, it happens. <img src=smilies/magbiggrin.gif>

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MooglyGuy
01-06-2004, 03:51 AM
Go for it, but keep in mind that the requirements you answered "whatever" to are pretty much standard requirements, and are nothing special, so if you plan to seriously apply in the future you should really have a basic knowledge of them.

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Octocrook
01-06-2004, 05:58 AM
> Go for it, but keep in mind that the requirements you
> answered "whatever" to are pretty much standard
> requirements, and are nothing special, so if you plan to
> seriously apply in the future you should really have a basic
> knowledge of them.

Yea...I was talking to my mom and her bf (who owns a software company) about this, and re-looked over the list, and really, it isn't as bad as it looked. A lot of that stuff I could familiarize myself with in little time. The only thing I'm really worried about is whether I would have to be a complete whiz in C++, because I'm far from it. But as my mom's bf says, the most important part of programming is not the coding but the development. Who knows though...who knows what parts I really need for the job and what parts they'd be willing to train me on. So tomorrow, I'm gonna make a resume and cover letter and go for it.

<P ID="signature"><center><a href=http://www.sonicgarden.com/sonic-web/album.cfm?albumid=11755><img src=http://www.crooky.us/ac.jpg>

New album: Olde School</a>
<a href=http://www.crooky.us>-</a>
</center></P>

Octocrook
01-06-2004, 08:21 PM
> But getting a degree in math means you want a job in math.

Not necessarily. For lots of jobs, it doesn't necessarily matter what kind of degree you have, although some degrees like math are harder to get, so they're more impressive. There wouldn't be so many math majors if they all had to get a job in math, because there aren't many strictly "math" jobs.

<P ID="signature"><center><a href=http://www.sonicgarden.com/sonic-web/album.cfm?albumid=11755><img src=http://www.crooky.us/ac.jpg>

New album: Olde School</a>
<a href=http://www.crooky.us>-</a>
</center></P>

SharkESP
01-06-2004, 09:02 PM
> > But getting a degree in math means you want a job in math.

> Not necessarily. For lots of jobs, it doesn't necessarily
> matter what kind of degree you have, although some degrees
> like math are harder to get, so they're more impressive.
> There wouldn't be so many math majors if they all had to get
> a job in math, because there aren't many strictly "math"
jobs.


Strictly math jobs are two catagories: either grade school teacher, or researcher. And if you want a college job, they will care much more about your ability to research than your ability to teach (which is why college classes are often taught by TA's)

<P ID="signature">Peace Sells, but who's buyin? - Dave Mustaine</P>

Octocrook
01-06-2004, 10:16 PM
> Strictly math jobs are two catagories: either grade school
> teacher, or researcher. And if you want a college job, they
> will care much more about your ability to research than your
> ability to teach (which is why college classes are often
> taught by TA's)

Some in college do teach, but yea, their main job is to research.

<P ID="signature"><center><a href=http://www.sonicgarden.com/sonic-web/album.cfm?albumid=11755><img src=http://www.crooky.us/ac.jpg>

New album: Olde School</a>
<a href=http://www.crooky.us>-</a>
</center></P>

Octocrook
01-07-2004, 12:01 AM
> Well, I think my point still stands. If you want a job in
> technology, a degree in technology is going to serve you
> better than a math degree, no matter how hard it is to get.

Yea, but I don't go out looking for jobs in technology, and I really don't know what kind of job I want yet particularly. I'm not even really ready to get a full-time job considering I have a while left to go in college. This Rockstar job just seemed like something I should try to get while its there.

<P ID="signature"><center><a href=http://www.sonicgarden.com/sonic-web/album.cfm?albumid=11755><img src=http://www.crooky.us/ac.jpg>

New album: Olde School</a>
<a href=http://www.crooky.us>-</a>
</center></P>