To be able to get into the industry, you will have to enjoy video games and having a portfolio of the skills you are able to do depending on what sector in the games industry you want to go into; a portfolio for 3D modelling showing what you are capable of doing and giving examples of environments/characters/weapons/vehicles and/or items, etc. can help an employer see what you could bring to their company giving it a higher chance of you being able to get into the games industry. You will have to be qualified using a variety of different programs, which can include Photoshop, Java, 3ds Max, Maya, C++ however knowing more than the other can come in handy if going into a specific department i.e. knowing coding languages and how to code well will be more useful if you wanted to be a coder rather that knowing fully how to use Photoshop to a high level.

To be able to find a job in the games industry, finding a direct job may be difficult since they requires such high skills and education therefore another way in may be getting an apprenticeship to work your way from the bottom to the top and learn the required skills along the way. 

There are various different ways in which one would be able to search for a job to get into the games industry. There would be the most obvious choices: the internet, word of mouth or a job listing in a newspaper or magazine, however the latter would most likely be a rarity. The most common place that would help a person to find a job in the games industry would be the internet as the internet has many websites that are based around the games industry itself and offer job listings; examples of these would be gamasutra.com, gamesindustry.biz, or skillset.org. Other useful websites that can link you to people who are working or have worked in the games industry can be sites like LinkedIn which allows you to communicate with people and people to communicate with you. There is also events like GDC which you can go to or job fairs. 

To be able to work in the games industry, you will need a variety of universal skills such as teamwork, working to deadlines and time management. These as well as a variety of others will help you to not only get a place in the industry but keep the job. Being able to work well with others is a must for the games industry as working together will be a necessity when it comes to developing, publishing, marketing or financing a game and seeing as there will be so many different people in the different departments all doing different things i.e. animating, 3D modelling, sound, it would be very important to be able to be able to work with and alongside other people (even people who you may not usually get along with) to ensure the product gets produced on time; which includes the skills time management and working to a deadline. Other important skills may include: working with a client if sales or working alongside a publisher or developer is expected; negotiation for working alongside publishers and developers; confidence; patience can be key if working in the testing department as the work may become tedious; being able to solve problems which helps time efficient; being able to take criticism can help during pitches; organisation will help to keep everything running smoothly without interruptions and disruption; management and leadership skills for people running as a manager or a leader; being able to stay motivated and motivate others is a good skill to have because it means it keeps people ready and willing to work; being decisive can be helpful as it gets ideas generated, decisions get made and improved and helps with budgeting and finally research skills are important because it shows you can obtain primary and secondary research about an organisation which can show interest giving it better chance of being able to successfully obtain higher roles in the industry and helps to keep you up to date.

For some departments, having one skill more developed than another can come in handy and having a specific skill for a department is necessary; for example, working in the animation department would mean you would need to know how to animate as well as working in the 3D department would mean you would need to know how to use 3D programmes to a high standard and be able to produce 3D models.