The employer was video game pioneer Atari. Jobs showed up in the company’s lobby wearing sandals and said he wouldn’t leave until he got hired. His long hair and sloppy appearance forced Atari’s chief engineer to choose between letting the “hippie kid” in the office, or calling the cops, Walter Isaacson recounts in his new biography of Jobs.

Jobs was invited in and hired as a technician. He was paid $5 an hour.

Since the 1970s, the appeal of having fun and making money by working in video games has only increased. “One of the things that attracts people to the industry is the coolness factor,” says Dan Fiden, a former Electronic Arts executive who recently left Gazillion Entertainment, a start-up gaming company, to join Signia Ventures, a venture capital firm where he will focus on gaming.

“Anybody born since the mid-1970s grew up playing video games,” says Fiden. “This is an extremely important form of mass entertainment.” Gaming companies and start-ups are hiring like never before, and while gaming has become a $16 billion dollar industry, the sector still welcomes eccentric geeks.

Whether you want to help work on Hollywood-esque productions like EA’s Battlefield 3, or help create the next Angry Birds or CityVille, opportunities are everywhere — if you’re willing to work for them.

Here’s how:

Go to Game School

The number of college degree programs in gaming has increased by 37% since the 2009-2010 school year to 343 this year, according to the Entertainment Software Association, an industry trade group. Popular schools include the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, and Redmond, Washington’s DigiPen.

The University of Central Florida launched its Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy in 2005, offering a Master’s of Science in Interactive Entertainment, The school’s annual class size has grown from 12 in 2005 to 66 this year, says Ben Noel, the school’s executive director and a former EA executive.

The program offers three degree tracks:

Art: This is for people who want to create the look of characters and environments in games. Students study character modeling, animation and object modeling, while also learning how to use graphic design and animation software like Maya.

Production: For future producers and executive producers. “They whip people into shape, keep everything organized” and make sure games get finished on time, says Noel. Producers also learn scripting and help write the story lines and dialogue for games. Students learn game design, project management and business skills.

Programmers: The dream builders. They take the game play ideas and storylines of producers and turn them into digital realities. Students learn to program game engines that can be used to make games for a variety of platforms, as well how to contribute to game design.

For the first time this year, the Florida program began allowing students to choose between doing an internship in their last semester or joining the “venture track” team, using their time to put together a model to found their start-ups. About half of the class chose the venture track this year, Noel says.

The average starting pay for a FIEA graduate is about $50,000. There can be a steep learning curve at gaming companies, where tight deadlines and a high-pressure working environment is the norm, Noel says.

“Everyone’s skeptical of young people coming into the gaming industry,” Noel says. “They have to shine quick.” At the higher levels of the gaming industry, Noel says, an experienced executive producer at a company like EA can earn as much $250,000 a year, and a lead programmer can make as much as $200,000.

Diversify Your Skills

Obsessive video game players often think that their passion for playing games is enough to get a job, says Tracy Fullerton, director of the University of Southern California Game Innovation Lab and an associate professor at the college’s School of Cinematic Arts. Conversely, people who don’t consider themselves hard-core gamers imagine that there’s no place for them at a games company. In reality, a mix of the two types is ideal to get a job in the industry.

“I always tell high school students who want a gaming career, study math and science,” Fullerton says. “But also become well-rounded people with great writing and communication skills, and a real interest in popular culture so they can become the Renaissance person who is the best of what a game designer can be.”

Become a Server Engineer

As gaming consumers increasingly expect to have their games connected to the Internet, companies are competing to bring in the best server engineers. These folks can command high salaries and good equity packages because they’re in demand from all industries, Fiden says.

“These people are in demand in the banking world, at the Amazons of the Web world, YouTube, the people who run the iTunes stores — everyone needs these people,” he says. The appeal of the gaming industry, though, is that compensation can be competitive with other industries. It also has the sexiness of working on products that millions of people use.

For an even more granular look at the jobs gaming companies have, check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ recent report, “Work for Play: Careers in Video Game Development.”

Try Data Analytics

Because games are going online, companies are collecting real-time statistics about what players are doing: when they find the game too difficult and put down the controller or what virtual goods they love to buy and which they avoid. The gaming industry needs data scientists, statisticians and product managers to make sense of all that information and incorporate it into changes within games.

“There are roles that are critically important to the video game industry now that didn’t exist 10 years ago,” Fiden says.

At Seattle’s PopCap Games, the company is looking for “monetization designers” who can figure out ways to create revenue streams from in -game purchases. A mixture of “analytical skills as well as pure game design skills” is ideal for people applying for these positions, says Pamela Sampel, head of global human resources.

Job seekers with experience in Web services who understand how to analyze consumer behavior can make the switch into gaming. But these jobs are not for the faint-hearted.

“The rate at which those companies evolve and the speed at which they work is just remarkable,” Fiden says. “Six months working at Zynga or Playdom is like six years working at some of the more traditional video game companies.” – Originally posted on FINS from the Wall Street Journal by Joseph Walker

How To Get The Coolest Tech Job Ever is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Want A Tech Job? India’s Tech Firms Are Hiring Big
2. Unless They’re Playing, You May Not Be Staying
3. Five Tech Start-Ups To Work For In 2012

Take a closer look and you’ll find that Steve Jobs left us more than technology, innovation, Apple, Pixar, and powerful corporate branding tips. Jobs imparted powerful personal branding, potentially without knowing it, although I have a sense that Jobs did nearly everything with intention and design, down to choosing those Levis.

Create a style

Before you think style has to cost a fortune, take a cue from Jobs. He usually wore a St. Croix black-long sleeved mock turtleneck, Levi’s 501 jeans and New Balance 991 sneakers. Turning a ‘look’ into a brand is easier, and more common, than you think.

Andrea Jung, the C.E.O and Chairman of the Board for Avon, and one of only 11 Fortune 500 female CEO’s, has her own spin on this. She always has her iconic pearls and red lipstick on with whatever else she chooses for her wardrobe du jour.

It’s okay to be let go (or fired)

It’s okay to get laid off, fired, or be told “no thanks” by a company. Just because a company says “no” to your talent doesn’t mean you don’t have any talent. In 1985, Jobs was fired from Apple, the very company he founded.

His response? Embrace their “no,” move on, and embrace change. He, literally, moved on to the NeXT thing, founding NeXT computer the same year, which he later sold to….Apple, for $429MM. Rather than joining the Apple team again, he bought a then-unknown group, now known as Pixar, for $10MM. A few Academy-Award winning productions (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc. sound familiar?), and he sold this successful venture to Disney for $7.4B in stock. Jobs became the largest single Disney shareholder overnight. Jobs says getting fired is the best thing that ever happened to him because “…it freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

Simplicity is good

NeXT. Pixar. Apple. Do you sense a theme? The logo of Apple is an actual apple. Jobs companies all had one name for their brand. He kept his companies, their brands and his consumer products simple. Ironically, the technology behind MacBook laptops, iPods, iPhones, iPads, Animated movies (Pixar) and the like is anything but simple. Jobs shows us that your brand doesn’t have to say everything about you, or your career, it merely needs to represent what you bring to the table.

P.S. – The MacBook Pro I typed this on is far different from the apple cider I drank while writing this post and yet, they’re both “apple.” Branding is what you make it; that is what makes it personal branding. – Originally posted on the Personal Branding Blog by Adriana Llames

Career Branding Tips Courtesy Of Steve Jobs is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Why Personal Branding Today Is A Must
2. Top 10 Reasons Steve Jobs Will Be Missed By Apple Employees
3. Glassdoor Co-Founder Sounds Off On Steve Jobs’ Resignation

When Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple this past August, he left the tech giant with an outstanding 97% approval rating among employees. That approval rating speaks volumes as it made Jobs the third highest rated CEO among all CEOs on Glassdoor at the time.

Below are just some of the reasons Steve Jobs will be missed by Apple employees:

1. “Steve Jobs is the Thomas Edison of this century…the Steve Jobs keynote presentations are as close to ‘rock star’ as an engineer is ever going to get.” – Apple Middle Manager (Cupertino, CA)

2. “You will have lots of opportunity to practice working in a somewhat chaotic, but often creative workplace, and to benefit from the genius of Steve Jobs.” – Apple Employee (Cupertino, CA)

3. “Steve Jobs is on top of things; if he see’s bureaucracy he will cut it out, and even if he doesn’t there is a fear that if he does see you as a bureaucrat he will cut you out.” – Apple Software Engineer IV (Cupertino, CA)

4. “Absolutely loved working for Uncle Steve. The corporation, even as a corporation, was a great thing to be a part of.” – Apple Genius (Mission Viejo, CA)

5. “Great senior level management, I can see how Steve Jobs gets voted the Best CEO.” – Apple Engineer (Cupertino, CA)

6. “Steve Jobs is revered at the company. He seems to be a great leader and everyone is excited about the products.” – Apple Employee (Cupertino, CA)

7. “It’s one of the most exciting places to work for! Watching Apple grow in the Steve 2.0 era has been nothing short of astonishing.” – Apple Network Engineer (Cupertino, CA)

8. “Apple takes care of its employees. Full time workers receive health benefits, all employees are offered stock options and very good prices on previous generation apple products.” – Apple Mac Specialist (location n/a)

9. “I am proud to say that I work for Apple. The products speak for themselves and it is great to be able to use them.”  - Apple Project Manager (Austin, TX)

10. “Management is transparent and very friend, great colleagues, pleasant work environment in which you encouraged to be who you are.” – Apple Employee (location n/a)

Read more Apple reviews from employees.

You can also view Glassdoor’s co-founder, Tim Besse, paying tribute to Steve Jobs when he stepped down as CEO of Apple, while providing insight into what Apple employees have to say on Glassdoor TV.

Top 10 Reasons Steve Jobs Will Be Missed By Apple Employees is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Glassdoor Co-Founder Sounds Off On Steve Jobs’ Resignation
2. Apple Celebrates 25 Unforgettable Years
3. Apple / Microsoft War is Back On: New Products and New Marketing Campaigns

What are your thoughts on Steve Jobs’ resignation as CEO?

Glassdoor Co-Founder Sounds Off On Steve Jobs’ Resignation is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Top 10 Reasons Steve Jobs Will Be Missed By Apple Employees
2. Oracle to Buy Sun: Larry Ellison to become next Steve Jobs?
3. Career Branding Tips Courtesy Of Steve Jobs

For more middling managers, taking time off for an illness could be harder – and certainly will generate fewer headlines. People who are “at the top of their game” have more latitude to take a long leave or delegate much of their job, if needed, said Rosalind Joffe, a Boston-area career coach specializing in people with chronic illnesses. She has had multiple sclerosis for 30 years and other chronic conditions. “Most people can be replaced,” she said, though federal law provides some protections during a Family and Medical Leave Act break or under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Joffe’s best advice for those without Jobs’ stellar reputation is to keep working as much as you are able to – and know that the engagement can be good for you. Stay on as long as your health allows, but be attuned so you know when to let go.   So how do you know when you should take off time for illness? Joffe suggests asking yourself these three questions:

• How are your symptoms impacting you and your work performance? “On your own or with someone you trust, do a careful self-assessment,” she said. Consider how your anxiety and stress may be changing your management style and personality – and how that may read to coworkers around you.
• What do I want to do, and need to do about the illness? Create a plan for yourself and your team. Figure out what kind of “workarounds” are necessary and estimate how much time off you may need. Look at your situation, the likely future path and take responsibility for managing it.
• What am I going to tell people? Who needs to know about my illness? Some leaders with chronic illnesses clue in only members of their immediate team; others let everyone know. Do what’s necessary and what’s comfortable and what fits your style and culture, Joffe said. Then talk about your illness without emotion. Make it clear that you are committed to your job and your team as well as your health.

If you’re facing cancer or another disease with a long duration, consider joining a support group or enlisting some advice from a nonprofit such as Cancer and Careers.

Her other advice: “Keep your team on your side.” People usually don’t lose their jobs or their standing if they’re well-liked or if they bring extraordinary value to their employer.  And while you’re on leave, depending on your job and your treatment, stay in touch and somewhat available to their colleagues. “You’re still seen as part of the team,” Joffe said.

How To Know When Time Off For Illness Is A Good Thing is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

No related posts.

Apple has solidified its status as a media darling with its iPod and Mac products, but how do the companies really compare? And what about their respective leaders?

When looking at employee approval ratings of each CEO, Steve Jobs’ 90% approval helps solidify his iconic status, and he completely overshadows’ Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s rating of just 41%. In Glassdoor’s deeper analysis of 90-day trailing averages, Jobs’ has always held more than a 20 percentage point lead over Ballmer. Jobs’ rating took a dip in recent weeks, while Ballmer’s approval rating continued to stay low (20-40%) and could end up being the key reason that Microsoft does not make the Glassdoor Best Places to Work list again this year.

Microsoft has taken some knocks in the industry as of late, but what are its employees saying? Anonymous reviews on Glassdoor include some pointed feedback for the company’s leadership from within its ranks:

MS has the resources to invest in cutting edge tech. And, chances are your project/product will impact millions of users…[in advice to senior management] Stop hiding from Apple and take them head-on in the coolness factor (not the majority factor). Microsoft Program Manager (Redmond, WA)

Great people, benefits, work/life balance (if one takes cares of it)… [but] All decisions made by CEO slows down innovation path. – Microsoft Director of Marketing (Redmond, WA)

Microsoft is challenging. You will be stretched. You will never be bored…[in advice to senior management] Management need to take a hard look at their marketing and advertising strategy. Uncool advertising is so embarrassing for employees, who’d really like to be proud to work there. – Microsoft Process Engineer (Redmond, WA)

Microsoft gets the best and brightest talent from around the world and puts them in global, cross-functional teams…[but] Everyone is overloaded, so planning is often given short shrift which just starts the cycle all over again [and] Lack of transperancy creates a somewhat Macciavelian environment among managers. – Microsoft employee (St. Louis, MO)

Despite notable variances in CEO approval, the company ratings are a lot more competitive. Apple has generally had slightly higher company ratings than Microsoft since September 2008 through to August 2009. However, since August 2009 the company satisfaction ratings have started to close in. In fact, based on the 90-day trailing average for company ratings, Microsoft has taken a slight edge over Apple. As of October 16, Microsoft’s 90-day trailing average rating was 3.4 and Apple’s was 3.3.

According to reviews, Apple employees on the whole are satisfied with the company. But recent reviews do shed some light on the dip in ratings:

Great products, but not a great place to work…Executives are so indoctrinated in the Apple way of doing things that they’re not open to new approaches. – Apple employee (location n/a)

Excellent products that remain among the top in the industry…[but] No communication of ongoing issues with products. – Apple Specialist (Dallas, TX)

Exposure to leading edge technology [and] intelligent co-workers…[but] management makes no effort to find ongoing projects for employees when re-structuring occurs – employees are on-their-own. – Apple Engineer (Cupertino, CA)

Apple still has a great cachet [but] Everything depends on the next hit product and of Steve Jobs staying ahead of the competition. Although there is lots to like in Apple’s products, they have fallen behind before with Steve Jobs, and he will not be there forever. Apple Marketing Manager (location n/a)

However, if the recent marketing campaign is an indicator, Apple is even more serious about the competition with Microsoft:

Will Windows 7 help remove the shadow cast by Windows Vista? Or will effective marketing campaigns continue to help Apple steal market share from PCs? Tell us what you think.

Apple / Microsoft War is Back On: New Products and New Marketing Campaigns is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Top 10 Reasons Steve Jobs Will Be Missed By Apple Employees
2. Microsoft and Yahoo Announce Partnership; What Could this Mean for Employees?
3. Google CEO says Goodbye to Apple Board

In addition, Apple enthusiasts are all abuzz with the latest flurry of product announcements stemming from today’s events, highlights included: 

• The new iPhone 3GS – S for “speed” -will have faster mobile Web connectivity and video-capture software.
• Large price cut on the solid-state-drive version of the MacBook Air, which was dropping from $2,500 to $1,800
• Snow Leopard gets a ship date of September 2009 

But despite working for a well-liked creative and cutting-edge CEO, what’s the cost to the engineers responsible for helping bring these products and others to market? We have included below some recent commentary from a variety of Apple software and hardware engineers that speaks to pressure and other workplace factors they have been up against to remain highly competitive in today’s tech environment. Over and over we find that one of the most common complaints about working at Apple are the long hours and the challenge to maintain work/life balance. 

Here are some noteworthy examples of engineer gripes about working at Apple: 

Just this past week a Senior Software Engineer in Cupertino commented that Apple is a huge disappointment. “Working 7 days a week makes people’s total output go DOWN. Set the right weekly milestones and have people go home and recharge on the weekends. They will get MORE done every week.” 

“Great company but long hours,” -Senior Hardware engineer 

Another Software Engineer suggests to senior management: “Value your employees more, try to keep them from getting burned out. They are not always replaceable.” 

“Many departments, and their VP’s, directors, and managers have unrealistic expectations of their employees. Particularly on the hardware engineering side of Infinite Loop (buildings 5 and 6), people get driven very hard and are regularly expected to work weekends.” Software Engineer IV 

“Apple is very secretive. It can be difficult to know what’s going on ahead of time, and then all of the sudden, you need to shift and adapt. Schedules are very rough and change a lot. Releases, and crunch-time seems omni-present. It can be overwhelming.” – Senior Software Engineer

Will Steve Job’s re-entry into Apple full time reinvigorate the engineers from possible burn out? Or will life at Apple continue to be full throttle? Stay tuned as we track engineer sentiment, Steve Job’s approval rating and Apple’s company satisfaction score.

Apple’s WWDC buzzing over Jobs’ Rumors is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Top 10 Reasons Steve Jobs Will Be Missed By Apple Employees
2. Apple / Microsoft War is Back On: New Products and New Marketing Campaigns
3. Apple, a Fortress of Secrecy?

• The Hardest and Easiest Interview Questions By Company
• How to Prepare for a Job Interview
• They asked you what during an interview?!?
• Interview Do’s and Don’ts: A Round Up
• Impression Killers: What the Interview Says About your Company?
• Glassdoor Helps Job Candidates Ready for Interviews at Specific Companies
• Oracle to Buy Sun: Larry Ellison to become the Next Steve Jobs?
• Glassdoor CEOs: Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Gone?

Any topic you’d like to see us cover in the future?  Let us know!

Glassdoor’s Blog Highlights: A Roundup is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Glassdoor Blog Highlights: A Roundup
2. Glassdoor’s Blog Highlights of the Month
3. Survey Highlights Stress Effect of Unemployment; Tips to Counter

We were curious to see how corporate leaders fare against current and most recent US leaders according to their respective communities, whether its voters or employees. Using MSNBCs Gallup poll and Glassdoor’s CEO ratings, we did some analysis to see how ratings for Obama and the previous ten Presidents on their 100^th day in office compared to the 25 top rated CEOs (with more 100 reviews). We discovered that there are 13 CEOs who receive higher approval ratings than Obama.  World-famous Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes top spot with a 91% approval rating…perhaps if Obama invented the next iPod he’d be set for a second term!?!

President John F. Kennedy is the only US leader to make it in the top 5 on this list below based on his approval rating on his 100^th day in office. And, we see that of this recent list of Presidents, H.W. Bush, Clinton and Ford had the lowest approval ratings at this point in time during their respective tenures.

Taking a deeper dive beyond approval ratings, it’s interesting to see the commonalities between the public and the private sector. As we read through recent Apple company reviews, we found many employees commenting in their ‘advice to senior management’ that they just wanted to be heard. For example, an Apple Technical Support Agent writes in “Listen to the folks on the front lines.” Something we’re sure both President Obama and the leaders before him have often heard as well.

And as a final yet important note, we realize running a country is perhaps a bit more difficult than running a corporation, but this does bring up the question: ‘To what extent do ratings signify when it comes to the long term success of leader?’

How Obama and his Predecessors Approval Ratings Compare to Top Rated CEOs is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Bush Should Consider Lowering Salary to Boost Approval Ratings
2. CEO Approval Ratings Forecast Job Tenure
3. GM CEO Ousted; CEO Approval Ratings Were Up

According to Forbes, the deal also represents a bold move by Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison. And to add on to the story, TechCrunch notes that Larry Ellison has always wanted to be the Steve Jobs of the enterprise IT industry. And with this morning’s announcement, it seems as though he is making a big step toward making Oracle more of a soup-to-nuts provider of enterprise technology.

So how close is Larry Ellison to becoming the next Steve Jobs? According to their respective employees, these two tech giants vary quite widely in terms of their approval rating. Apple‘s Steve Job’s holds a 27 percentage point higher rating that Oracle’s Larry Ellison. In addition, we find that 12% of Oracle employees actually disapprove of the way Ellison manages the company compared to just 2% of Apple employees who disapprove of Jobs.

So what can Larry Ellison do to improve? Below is what Oracle employees list as cons about working at Oracle which in turn gives some big hints as to what Larry could work on and in turn hopefully push up his approval rating.

“Performance feedback is very lacking. I’ve been here 4 years and gotten 1 formal review. In addition to this, getting hired at Oracle can take some time, sometimes people have to wait a long time (up to a year) for Larry to approve their offer…. yes, that Larry.” – Senior Member of Technical Staff (Nashua, NH)

“The career planning role of HR is non-existent; they’re just administrative drones. There are lots of organization silos, even duplicative functions, who all care about reporting up the command structure rather than work together. All of this also translates into the company being weak at home-grown execution, and has a lack of vision in segments that Larry Ellison is not yet convinced about.” – Product Management Director (Redwood City, CA)

“Very process driven to the point of being absurd. No authority to do anything. Everything must be approved through multiple levels of management up to and including Larry Ellison. Even for minor contact changes. Not very nimble in the market.” – Sales Representative (Boston, MA)

“The shift in company strategy to grow through acquisitions reduced the motivation to innovate.” – Senior Development Manager (Redwood City, CA)

“Depends on what department you work in, but it’s easy to get lost. Oracle buys so many companies that they just eat you up and forget about you it seems. It’s very easy to have your skills outdated if you work there too long. My department worked on legacy stuff and it was very difficult to get another job with the skill set I had.” – Software Development Engineer (Pleasanton, CA)

Stay tuned as we watch how employees at both Oracle and Sun react to the news of this acquisition. Are you an employee at these companies? Tell us what you think.

Oracle to Buy Sun: Larry Ellison to become next Steve Jobs? is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Oracle Shareholders Not the Only Ones to Complain About Ellison’s Salary
2. Top 10 Reasons Steve Jobs Will Be Missed By Apple Employees
3. Glassdoor Co-Founder Sounds Off On Steve Jobs’ Resignation