Being a AAA company, they usually tend to hire personnel with background experience in the career fields. Some need at least one year, others require three years experience. Also, if you were part of a AAA game, it works in your favor. More than likely, if you want to be a programmer, a degree is a really good idea when it comes to that career choice. Designers and artists rely more on good portfolios, but programmers need experience with the skills to back it up. From everything I've read, there doesn't seem to be too many opportunities to be an intern, but there are plenty of companies that do (look at EA for a good one). I've been working on a game plan to do a Computer Science degree so I can go for a programming job once I start college. If you decide to do college, I'd suggest this route as Computer Science is a well rounded degree that can benefit other aspects other than gaming. That being said, the gaming industry is very competitive and chances are you may not even get a job right out of college (not saying you definitely won't, but it's always to have a degree that's useful in a wide variety of work). An example would be a Game Programming degree. Usually it's a Bachelor's of Science, but it's for game programming. Computer Science would open you up to a wide array of jobs that most people wouldn't even qualify for. Below is a link that lists a few with qualifications and payments: [url=http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/technology/blog/what-can-you-do-with-computer-science-degree/]What Can You Do With a Computer Science Degree?[/url] Also, if you want to see what I'm doing, I posted a general game plan with programs you can learn on your own: [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/209105694?showBanned=0&path=0]The story so far...[/url]