Road Map to my Ideal Role in a Games Company

As part of our Critical Studies we were asked to come up with a 'road map' to out ideal job, to look at what they were asking for in the job roles, and analysing how suited I am to the role currently and what I need to work on to get there, looking at both soft skills and hard skills.

The sort of job that would be ideal for me to be a junior role in any studio so I can gain experience and be taught how they want me to work.

I looked at a few job specification online; I am not sure what I exactly want to work with, as I am still learning my strengths and weaknesses in both 3D and 2D.

Below the job that stood out to me as the most well written specification, with a junior role, I don't necessarily want to be a concept artist, just this gave me the best professionally written  junior role to analyse:

Junior 2D Concept Artist (m/f)

Recruiter: Goodgame Studios

Posted: 10 February 2014

Closes: 10 March 2014

Location: Germany

Sector: Art / Animation, Games

Contract Type:Permanent

Hour: Full Time

Level: Junior / Executive

Job Function: Artist, Other

Salary: Salary negotiable

Further information

We are currently looking for a
Junior 2D Concept Artist (m/f)
Goodgame Studios is Europe’s fastest growing gaming company and one of Germany’s most successful technology businesses. With more than 700 employees at our headquarters in Hamburg we develop innovative online games which are played by more than 180 million players in 25 languages across 200 countries. Our talented, motivated team of experts and newcomers forms the basis of our success. Become a part of the success story and apply now!
This position is subject to an employment contract. We kindly request that freelancers and companies who would like to offer us their services do not respond to this advertisement.
As our Junior 2D Concept Artist (m/w), you will use your good design skills — which include the effective use of color, form, light and composition — for the visual design of our online games.
Your Job:

• Developing ideas from concept to finished illustration with your Lead Artist
• Cooperating on concepts for game worlds, characters, vehicles, storyboards and other visual content of our games
• Providing assistance in finding the style for new projects and prototypes
• Cooperating closely with product managers, game designers and graphic artists

Your Profile:

• Completed training or a degree in Illustration, Design, Art or an equivalent education
• A good understanding of character, and object design
• A good knowledge of Photoshop or other 2D art and painting programs
• You enjoy working in a team and have good communication skills
• You have a good knowledge of English, both spoken and written
• A valid work and residence permit is required prior to commencement of employment

We offer:

• An exciting job where you can assume responsibility and develop professionally
• A dynamic team with friendly, highly-qualified colleagues from all over the world
• Strong, sustainable growth and fresh challenges every day
• Flat hierarchies and short decision paths
• A culture of mutual respect and an outstanding working environment
• Further training with workshops, language courses and technical reference works, a healthy work-life balance, regular team events, sporting and leisure activities and much more!

Hamburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and provides a fantastic range of leisure activities as well as a great nightlife. A maritime atmosphere and its Hanseatic cosmopolitan flair enable an especially high quality of life – and safety. We will make relocating simple, help you find a flat, offer you a German course, and make it easy for you to get to know your new home town.
Send us your complete application (a letter of motivation, your CV and portfolio) with salary expectations as a single PDF file with the keyword “Junior 2D Concept Artist” to Karsten Krausch, artjobs@goodgamestudios.com.
Please also let us know how you found out about the position.
For more information look at www.goodgame-jobs.com.
Goodgame Studios
Theodorstraße 42-90, Haus 9
22761 Hamburg

Link to job - http://jobs.edge-online.com/job/15148/junior-2d-concept-artist-m-f-/

Where I am in relation to this job -

• I am capable of developing ideas form concept to finished ideas, not at the level that they will require but I am on my way do doing so.
• I am good at cooperating with other, but I am yet to do so in an art based environment. 
• I am yet to try different styles of drawing and I have had no experience in cooperating with people from different sectors.
• I am yet to complete my degree in Game Art Design
• I am still learning about characters and objects.
• I am still learning Photoshop and am yet to learn other programs 
• I already like working in a team, and have good communication skills
• I have a good knowledge of English, as it is my first language.

As you an see from above I am not fully suited to the role yet, but that is mainly as I am still a student, I have developed a lot of soft skills from having part time jobs since the age of 17, so I feel confident in those areas, but it is my hard artistic and software skills that will need to improve for me to be suited to a job role like this.

What I need to do to get in a position of being able to apply to this job role or one similar:

• Develop my artistic skill further, focusing on how to draw the anatomy correctly, and how to develop characters, as well as objects.
• Increase my knowledge of Photoshop and other 2d or 3d painting programs.
• Try out new styles of working artistically.
• Complete my degree.
• Refine my communication and teamwork skills in an art based environment.

I chose to analyse this job role, as it offers what I am looking for, a junior role. I want to be able to keep learning new skills, this job even involves learning a new language and living in a different country which is beyond exciting for me, and that's what I want a job to be, exciting.