Now he is happily freelancing as a VR and AR games developer – we asked him how he’d jumped up the levels.
“To be honest, back in 2023, I’d hit stalemate,” Jake explains. “I’d worked in hospitality for a number of years and then done some youth work, which was interesting. Unfortunately, the pandemic put an end to that for a while, and I’d had to take work in charity shops.
“I knew I needed a new career path and decided to try my hand at coding, as everyone was saying it was the future of work. The first breakthrough came when I secured my place on a fully funded web development course run by Net Matters. This was a great introduction to coding, but it also made me realise that I wanted work that was more creative.”
Then, early in 2024, Jake spotted an ad on the Ipswich Reddit board for a Unity Coding Skills Bootcamp run by Tech Educators in Norwich. “Unity is one of the main engines for games development,” he explains, “and I had always loved playing video games since I was a kid. So, this seemed like the perfect combination of skills, both technical and creative.”
Overcoming obstacles is part of life’s game
Unfortunately, having recently been on the Net Matters course, Jake could not immediately start the Skills Bootcamp. “Both courses are government funded, and you can only do one in any 12-month period – so I had to wait a few months to start. It was frustrating but I used the time to start playing with the Unity developer tools – and looking at work opportunities.”
However, Tech Educators had let Jake take the course taster session, so he was confident he wanted to do it. “Unity is fun and creative, and I’d looked at the games industry so knew I really wanted to get into it. That said, I didn’t expect the get a job quickly, as the sector had suffered massive layoffs in the previous couple of years – around 35,000 positions in total!”
Jake finally started the Skills Bootcamp in July 2024 and completed it in October 2024. Most of the 14-week course involves online project work, with tutors available throughout to provide guidance and answer questions. This suits students like Jake (who lives in Ipswich) because they don’t have to cover the cost of commuting. Nevertheless, there are occasional team events in Norwich, including a games jam in week eight followed by a social evening.
Unlocking opportunities with transferable skills
Jake was networking as much as possible to find work where he could use his new skills. Things started to fall into place when a friend from his time at Net Matters contacted him. “Alex said he knew someone looking for a Unity developer to help on a project. He put me in touch with James Lee Burgess, who runs Urban Tech Creative, but although we got on well nothing came of it at the time.
“However, I had also signed up for a tech hackathon in Norwich called Sync the City. This was a great experience – and a real eye opener, not least because I’d left the Skills Bootcamp thinking I knew my stuff but then realised how little I knew! It was also brilliant for networking and that’s when I met James again, who’d seen me in the finals and said he liked my enthusiastic approach to problem solving.”
That gave Jake a chance to demonstrate a little app he had built – which impressed James enough to offer him work on a test project. “It took me a couple of days, but James was pleased with the result and offered me some paid freelance work. I was delighted at this breakthrough, even though it involved Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR and VR) which the Bootcamp had not covered (but it does now).
“Essentially, I had to train myself on the job in new coding and developer skills, which was a massive learning curve. Thankfully it still meant working with the Unity games engine, so I was able to build on the knowledge I’d gained through Tech Educators. That’s the great thing about these Bootcamps, so many of the skills you learn (like the C# coding language) are transferable.”
Moving from gamer to game changer
Since then, one project has led to another, and Jake has now been freelancing for six months, including 2-3 days a week for James on various projects. He puts his success down to hard work, determination and the skills he’d learnt on the two bootcamps, particularly Unity coding.
“Tech Educators give you a great Unity engine baseline and structure the course really well,” says Jake. “You make a new game every week, each time building on the skills you learnt the previous week. The tutors are also really supportive and always on-hand to offer support and guidance.”
Jake is now working on a number of interactive projects with James at Urban Tech Creative. They include one called Dock Stories, providing insights into the history of Ipswich Marina, and a virtual ‘pop-up’ museum and art gallery for Lowestoft. He hopes to go full time if the work continues to build.
As Jake concludes, “I’d recommend this Skills Bootcamp to anyone wanting a creative career or to develop coding skills. It’s really boosted my confidence and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. I love the work too and will shout from the rooftops about how happy I am being a real games developer!”
