Vicki Smith
Vicarious Visions
Menands, NY USA
"It's not just playing the game, it's learning that your limits aren't what you think they are."
Career Roadmap
Vicki's work combines: Design, Science, and Being Creative
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Rice University
Graduate Degree
Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics and Special Effects
Southern Methodist University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
She was always a gamer; originally, she wanted to design comic books.
2.
As encouraging as her parents were, they put their foot down and said they would not pay for her to get a humanities degree.
3.
Instead, she got her degree in mechanical engineering, and she took a job in the field after college.
4.
Although she realized she was going down a great career path, she was incredibly bored, and it wasn't feeding her creative side.
5.
She quit and went back to school; got her master's degree in interactive technology.
6.
In hindsight, her engineering degree gave her a leg up over designers who didn't know how to code.
7.
Says that in American culture, there's an idea that you should hone in on your dream and pour your soul into that one thing.
8.
Instead, she advocates for a more broad field of studies and interests; says reading Shakespeare might influence your scientific breakthrough.
