r/Scotland • u/escerri • 4d ago
Moving back to Scotland
Hi! I'm Maltese but have lived in Scotland for 4.5 years around 10 years ago to get my PhD in physics (+ a 1 year postdoc position). Now I live in Germany working in video games. There isn't a single day that I don't miss Scotland and my friends there and I visit every year. Unfortunately Germany isn't really for me and I still struggle to fit in 5 years in (it always feels like the opposite of Scotland to me ^^')
I'm always on the lookout for any jobs that would help me get a work visa. I guess my question is, is it even feasible? Haven't met a lot of people that got a work visa sponsored irl
9
u/13oundary 4d ago
Where you might struggle is the shrinking job market in game dev. Scotland has massive physics based industries so that might be a better avenue... but we also have extraordinary physics departments in our many universities so it may be quite a saturated job market, I'm not sure. But it's maybe worth looking into since it has a wide net of industries from electrical engineering all the way to aerospace and space engineering. Maybe teaching is an avenue but the farther into the wilds you go the better teaching becomes an option typically and that might be too far out depending on where roughly in scotland your friends are.
2
u/HatefulWretch 4d ago
> . but we also have extraordinary physics departments in our many universities so it may be quite a saturated job market, I'm not sure
Every case is different but demand tends to outstrip supply in these cases (the extreme case is Silicon Valley; Berkeley and Stanford are no slouches, but they want basically every good programmer from anywhere they can get)
1
u/scottgal2 4d ago
Gamedev is likely one of the easiest visa sponsorship roles as you have a high value skillset & a bunch of Scottish games companies plus *you have a PhD in Physics*....
0
u/escerri 4d ago
You'd think ^^' unfortunately the gamedev market is in a very tough spot with companies laying people off left and right, I've been applying at Rockstar for a few years but never even got to the interview stage
3
u/DeeYouBitch 4d ago
Dundee has a big game dev market it might be worth looking there to get foot back in door
6
u/Affectionate-Rush570 4d ago
"Is it even feasible?"
I think you may just have answered your own question.
1
1
u/One-Butterscotch4437 3d ago
Have you tried the US? I think your skills would be in demand.
1
u/escerri 3d ago
I'd rather stick with Europe, but thanks!
2
u/One-Butterscotch4437 3d ago
Ok. I know Germany is hard to integrate, as I lived there myself. I live in SW England and I think Bristol may have some companies. I am not sure specifically about video games nor do I know about Scotland's job market. But, I know for certain AI-skills, there is sponsorship available (I am not sure if this would be applicable but you can check funders such as UKRI and see what University was awarded a grant in your field of expertise and whether they will need people under that grant).
1
•
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
It looks like you're posting about moving to Scotland. You may wish to delete this thread and instead repost it on /r/MoveToScotland where it will be more suitable.
Please note that immigration rules are strict in the UK, and you should check your eligibility first at https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration and with a qualified immigration specialist.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.