I'm a Quality Assurance Engineer / Motion Graphics designer for a software development company. We make plug-ins primarily for After Effects and Photoshop, but also have plugs for Sparks, Flint, Flame, Inferno, Final Cut Pro, Premiere.
1. I'd average it around a 50-60 level of toughness. I have to think pretty abstractly to hunt down bugs in the software, plus I have to do a lot of design work to create content for our website and our reel that we show at tradeshows. I also get to do Tech Support, which can get tedious after a while.
2. 50-55; It's not as important as some other jobs, but we create tools for designers to use to produce pretty commercials and film effects for entertainment. I figure entertainment is pretty important in any society, so I'm helping people create within that industry.
3. 80; It's quite fun, though bug hunting can get dull at some points. I basically get to use a ton of development kits and programs that won't be available for public use for a while (Like After Effects 7, G5 Macs with Intel processors (not the iMacs, actual G5 towers) Flame stations, etc etc), and I get to go to tradeshows like SIGGRAPH and NAB, go to Vegas for free and have fun. It's a small company (only 5 people) so it's a cozy atmosphere. Really easy to get along with everyone, and everyone basically has their own part of the company that they support.
4. I got hired on as an unpaid intern around October of 2004. I turned out to be really really good at QA, and I meshed really well with everyone, so I got hired on Part-time early in 2005. I balanced that job along with school until I graduated last September, and got hired on to a Full-time position a week after graduation. And now here I am still going strong with it.
5. I'm going to stay on for maybe another year unless a better opportunity for my goals opens up. I'm planning to get into compositing and Visual Effects, and when I have time, I'm going to put together a new compositing reel and use my contacts to get into Tippett, ILM, or Pheonix Edit.
Last edited by Marconius (2006-01-15 23:48:37)