Darren Kelly (pictured) moved from Ireland to Germany as a new graduate with aspirations to work in the games industry. Now a lead developer with a decade’s experience, he is planning to return to Ireland to start his own business.
Ten years ago, Darren Kelly moved from Ireland to Germany in search of a career in games development, with the support of EURES. Today he is a lead developer with 10 years of experience gained in studios in Berlin and Munich. Darren is now planning to return to Ireland and start his own business – and got in touch to thank EURES for that initial support.
‘I would just like to say thank you so much to EURES for helping me get my foot in the door into the games industry,’ says Darren. ‘It’s a notoriously difficult industry to get started in without any experience. I don’t know how my life would have played out without that first initial helping hand.’
From Ireland to Germany
Darren, aged 31, from Clane in Co. Kildare, first contacted EURES in 2015 when he had just graduated from the South East Technological University in Carlow with a BSc in Computer Games Development and was looking for a first job in the games industry. When Darren couldn’t find what he was looking for in Ireland, he started to look abroad – and took part in a EURES scheme for animation and games development. This helped him to find his first job in the games industry – in Berlin.
At that time, EURES Ireland had an established cooperation with some European companies in the gaming and animation industry who were offering placements for graduates. Under the project, some of the relocation costs were covered by EURES Ireland. Darren was one of the Irish participants who was offered a placement in Germany.
‘This helped me get my foot in the door and start in the industry,’ says Darren. Although he had planned to do a language course with EURES’ support before moving to Germany, the company that offered him a job wanted him to start as soon as possible. While he could speak English at work, learning the language by taking courses in Germany has helped him to navigate day-to-day life more easily.
For the first 2.5 years, Darren lived and worked in Berlin. He then moved to Munich, Bavaria, and today works remotely from home in Augsburg. Over the last decade, his career has taken off and he is now a lead developer, with a strong technical skillset and a great deal of experience.
‘I have really enjoyed the experience,’ says Darren. ‘I would highly recommend it. It has changed me as a person for the better. I have grown in ways I don’t believe I would have if I had only stayed home in Ireland, in terms of my independence, career and personal life.’
Plans for the future
Now Darren has plans to return to Ireland – which is currently investing in its growing digital games sector through various measures, including tax credits. He aims to open a start-up gaming studio. ‘I would like to start small,’ he says, ‘building great tooling and games tech that I can sell while developing our own games.’
He adds: ‘There is never a good time to start a company, but at some point you need to take the leap! I will start slowly, and try to build up revenue streams with tools I have been developing before jumping right into this ambitious dream.
‘I believe my skill set and unique experience throughout my career have taught me a lot about how to create and operate games at scale and what tools you need to do so. I also have insights for how to create tools for the Unity game engine for my company to excel and speed up the development process over time.’
How EURES can help today
European jobseekers like Darren can now benefit from the EURES Targeted Mobility Scheme. Under this scheme, EU citizens who relocate for work to another EU country can receive financial support to cover the costs of travel for interviews, relocation, language training and recognition of their qualifications.
Kamila Weglicka de Carvalho, of the EURES Ireland Coordination Office, says: ‘It is a big step to move to a new country to start a new job and new lifestyle. EURES can make this decision a bit easier by helping to secure the job before leaving the country and offering financial support to help with the relocation costs.’
Click to read more about Ireland’s strategy for growth in the digital gaming sector.
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