1) What is GEC?
GEC is a volunteer driven educational job fair for the gaming industry in the Seattle/Bellevue area. Our primary goals are to increase the quality of the Puget Sound talent pool through low cost/high content educational events, a free website full of educational links, technical articles, and a job board aggregator (one stop job hunting!). We also aim to help the long term health of the local gaming industry by creating new relationships between game companies and educational institutions. We are staffed almost entirely by game industry volunteers in order to keep our prices to both the public and the game companies low or non-existent.

2) I am a parent or educator, why should I refer my student?
For a tenth of the cost for a single college level class, attendees to our annual educational job fairs receive vital information directly from the people who may hire them tomorrow. Everything from educational guidelines and resumes, to the best practices to employ in an interview will be covered. Students attending GEC educational job fairs will see the thousands of other talented people, face to face meetings with the best college recruiters for video games in Puget Sound, and make connections for the future. We encourage you to read #3 (What do I get out of GEC?) and #4 (Financial info about the games industry) so you can make an informed decision before you register your student and/or yourself.

3) What do I get out GEC and GEC events?
See below for the benefits for your specific group ( student, new professional, veteran )

Besides our free website full of local job postings and exclusive educational articles, we will provide opportunities for volunteers to show their skills and determination by helping us deliver quality content. As GEC grows, we will need more volunteers helping us raise the involvement of game companies and educational institutions with GEC, while keeping costs low to the public.
Volunteers who have the skills we need, or greatly help promote the event, will get free admission to the 2009 event. GEC is looking for current game professionals in the industry to volunteer by writing educational articles, and acting as liaisons to their company.

To volunteer, email volunteer (at) geconf (dot) com, and place "New Volunteer" in the subject line.

Student / 1-3 years game experience:
Attendees who are new to the industry, or students with an eye toward the future will get a wealth of employment information, as well as a whole host of "Do's and Don'ts" from the game companies themselves. Attendees will also learn specific guidance on every subject ranging from resumes and portfolios, to educational advice and entry level gaming jobs available right here in Puget Sound.

3-6 years exp. / Veterans:
Attendees with some gaming experience will have a perfect opportunity to cut through the red tape and show their talent. In addition to a refresher on the basics, the experts will share the software & middleware knowledge they are looking for in candidate today as well as the software skills they think will be required to get employment in the future. Veterans will get a perfect opportunity to see the talent of the next generation, while also networking with their peers. Veterans looking to re-ignite their networking and employment opportunities will find companies looking to hire experienced personnel. With the leaders of the local industry as GEC guest speakers, industry veterans will gain insight into the development process from each unique perspective.

Game Developers / Publishers:
Game companies who attend GEC for the hundreds of potential employees, will also gain the goodwill prestige of helping educate the next generation of local talent. GEC provides a unique chance to show off the corporate culture and new IP of local companies at virtually no cost to their budget. AAA and A level companies who sign up as "Early Sponsors" of GEC will have every opportunity to showcase their newly released games during the "Fun-N-Games" entertainment section of the GEC 2009 event schedule.

4) Financial info about the games industry
Well, you probably have a love for games, and that's why you're checking out this website, but there's a solid economic reason to be in the game industry. There is a better reason to get into games right here in Puget Sound, Washington.

Reports over the last two years by economic experts across the nation have shown that the game industry is one of the few recession proof industries in America today. Seattle/Bellevue is the #1 area for concentration of game jobs in the America (California has more jobs, but they're spread out over hundreds of miles). Seattle is the #1 employer of jobs for casual games in the world! Over 15,000 people are employed in games and game related jobs (more than combined total employees for Starbucks & Amazon.com in 2007). Besides all of the individual game studios in Puget Sound, we also have Microsoft, which is the largest private employer in Washington! We also have a bunch of Nintendo jobs, and even some jobs from Sony!

Let's talk about pay scale and benefits. Most entry level jobs in games start at $24k - 34k per year! All Microsoft jobs come with perks like a free 3-zone peak hour bus pass (Worth $1683 annually), so you don't have to waste money on commuting, ans access to 4-star cooking in their lunch rooms, as well as other perks for full-time employees. Microsoft, and virtually all of the local game companies also have free soda, sparkling water, healthy fruit juices, low-fat milk, and coffee of course. Some game companies also provide free snacks and health foods to keep their employees fresh and ready to overcome challenges.

5) How does GEC respond to both the needs of the public and the goals of game companies?
Virtually every aspect of GEC is determined by the public and the game companies themselves through our feedback system. We want to provide what you want, and what you need, and keep the prices low by cutting the useless stuff out. We will provide surveys on our website in order to learn what our attendees want, as well as determine what the game companies find most valuable.

6) When will the dates for GEC 2009 be announced?
We plan to lock in the date for the Spring 2009 educational job fair near the end of 2008. GEC must place the educational job fair in the calendar so that it does not conflict with other events on a nationwide scale. The more people who sign up for Early Registration, the earlier we can lock in our event date (and you save over 25% off the door price too).

7) When will the location for GEC 2009 be announced?
GEC is in the process of negotiation with two potential location sites. You can help! The more people we have registered, the more leverage we have to get a cheaper rate, with free wireless internet for everyone, and more interactive learning tools. Once again, we urge you to register now and save over 25% off the door price.