I also have a non-driving “type B” son in the game design field. He takes trains and busses from city to city when he needs to go somewhere. It hasn’t been a problem yet, but I do think he is somewhat handicapped by not driving. Mine is 19, and we’ll be on his case this summer as well. (Although the mom in me is glad he isn’t driving yet–cousin just totaled his car and that’s the worst phone call anyone could get, except “your kid was hit while riding his bike across the highway.”
I made my S get his license when he was 20 just to have it, and he renewed it at home this summer before moving west. But he would need to practice before driving and he knows he might need to get a car if he decides to look for another job and stop working from home. He likes his job and is making decent money but could be making 25% more at some of the larger tech companies. But with the availability of ride sharing apps it is less necessary, and he would need to weigh the cost of insurance, parking, etc vs using Uber or Lyft.
@redpoodles, I must admit I am happy for just one less worry and it does save us money on the insurance!! When my DD started driving the insurance went up $300 a month instantly (although she does contribute to that) 
^^^ Driving is definitely a generational value judgment.
We got our kids to get licenses for ID during college. A got his when he was 20 and D when she was 21. They are now fearless and good drivers, in LA, DC and wherever they end up. They have good driving records and decent auto insurance.
When S was graduating from engineering in 2010, he had many classmates getting bachelors and masters who were having problems getting jobs.
For game design, I suspect competition is even fiercer for good jobs. We have a friend who worked for LucasArts in SF. He said there was tons of pressure, low pay and they were treated very poorly.
Game design is a horrible field from most standpoints. The portfolio/quality of recent projects matters more than anything else and there is not even a pretense of job security.
We have s friend whose D is a CS engineer. She’s working for Cisco but has a very chauvinistic sexist supervisor and looking to find a new job. The job pays well but the attitude of the H1B Visa supervisor is poisonous.
Redpoodles is correct. Most game companies go through a cycle of hiring and laying off once the game is done. It is very disruptive.
Companies not like that have very little turnover.
Rock star programmers will always be employed.
Have him look at places like text book publishing houses. As more schools switch to ipads they are often creating content or sourcing content outside.
Some advertising firms are looking to create mini games on companies’ websites too.
Society really doesn’t need that many game designers as are being churned out by colleges.
there are job vacancies in Denmark
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/business/economy/denmark-jobs-full-employment.html
"…More than a third of companies in this industrial and technically advanced nation can no longer recruit enough skilled workers to fill posts. Vacancies abound for I.T. specialists, computer scientists, engineers and mechanics, as well as for electricians and carpenters. The wages needed to lure them are creeping up. Affected firms are scaling back production, turning down contracts and postponing expansion plans.
“We need more skilled workers, but we can’t get them,” said Mr. Enevoldsen, who recently joined other companies in a nationwide advertising campaign to lure talent. “If the labor shortage continues, it could sharply impact our growth, and growth in general.”…
edited for formating
^i think that is a lie. They can’t find people at the salary they are willing to pay is more accurate.
There are hyper technical skill sets that are in short supply, but many companies claim this bc 1) they want to pay less than the prevailing US wage and 2) they are not interested in putting time and effort into giving experience. Even if new employees leave quickly, so be it. The industry as a whole can address the shortage by hiring inexperienced folks and putting in the time. They all lose and win over time.
Established industries have already been through this. When the cost of hiring all those people crosses the point where expansion makes $, you slow down. It’s not a crisis.
My 2 cents.
My H sent me a link for tech jobs in New Zealand today:
Denmark and New Zealand seem very appealing. 
Just saw this thread: This all sounds incredibly shady and I would not deal with this recruiter (or any if possible). Reaching out directly to recruiters for specific companies is much more effective
I searched for software engineer and software developer on the Northeastern career site and found over 100 open positions in Boston alone between those two searches alone. At least 10 were posted in the last week, and that rate seems pretty consistent. There should be something there he is plenty qualified for, and a much higher rate of success for interviews than a public job site. Beyond the Boston area, there’s over 300. He doesn’t even have to go into Boston to use these. Has he tried those?
If he’s desperate, he could easily get a QA job that pays more than 40K with his knowledge and experience too.
To me, it sounds like he’s more focused on the games and projects he is working on with his friends than concerned with getting a job in the industry for whatever combination of reasons. If any of those reasons are a lack of interest in a standard corporate programming job, forget this offer right now. I suspect that he really wants to be working in game design, which is a hyper-competitive and hard to break into field, as discussed here. Honestly, I don’t see it as a good life either, with very little balance and often high stress. Others have mentioned some of that as well.
Sounds like a few of us could form a support group for parents of unemployed CS grads. My son (who does drive, btw, and is not a game designer is still looking. He has no geographical restrictions.
It is sad–I was trying to help S practice for an interview he has tomorrow. After so much rejection, he couldn’t think of a single good thing to say about himself.
Who will hire a new grad? Everyone wants experience.
Some places consider summer jobs experience. S worked two summers while he was pursuing his EE degree. When he interviewed, several of his prospective employers considered those two summers to be two years of experience, including the employer he is now working for. They are basing his benefits and seniority on those two years of experience. On the other hand, his campus job working during the year for an EE prof weren’t considered experience. Of course, YMMV.
My son went through this same scenario about 5 years ago. He worked on getting certifications, studying and taking the tests. He spent his days researching and applying for jobs, only to get a few phone calls and very few interviews. As a matter of fact, he was on his way by bus to NYC for an interview he very much wanted and received a call from them as he was half way there that they had just hired the person they had just interviewed. He was devastated.
He finally got a job offer that January for a start up in a city an hour +, and a horrible commute from home, at a low salary of $38,000. The interview was great, he got a good feeling from those who interviewed him. However, that all changed as soon as he started. I can’t even go into all the problems here. Suffice it to say it was a nightmare. He lasted as long as he could, about 6 months. However, being able to put that experience on his resume was SO important in allowing him to get his next job, which started at a 30% higher salary, with great benefits, where he has now been for 4 1/2 years. If he did not have that experience, he could not have even applied for this job - the online system would not have allowed it (needed a minimum amount of experience, and that 6 months allowed him to meet that in addition to his other job during college). Unfortunately, he had to go through that miserable soul-sucking experience to get where he is today. And maybe on the difficult days, it makes him appreciate what he has just a little bit more.
I met an young graduate 4 years ago. He had very low GPA, but he sounded very intelligent during the interview. I found out he had a complicated home life and he was a bit lost the first year in college (too much partying and such). He had been looking with no luck. I took a chance on him. Prior to hiring him, I gave him a very stern talk about no partying and having to show up to work on time. The young employee turned out to be brilliant and worked extremely hard, but it was a bit challenging on my part to keep him in line. This employee also lacked a lot of work etiquette and it took some coaching. I am no longer at the same firm, but he is still there and doing very well. As a parent of 2 young college graduates, I had a soft spot for students starting out. Sometimes they just need a chance.
I believe the OP says they are in CT. That being the case…why not apply with Travelers, Aetna, or the Hartford. They have excellent training programs for new hires…excellent (our neighbor is in one now). Hartford area might not be the dream location…but there are jobs.
As a gift…give thismkid a driver’s ed course that INCLUDES taking himfor his test. I live innCT as well, and there are very few places you can live in this state without a driver’s license. I know he wants to get back to Boston…but just saying!
I think New Haven is not a bad place to live for a young graduate. He can share a flat with some graduate student. Parking may be expensive.
Parking won’t be an issue unless he gets his driver’s license.