Exactly as advertised.
Archive for the 'Business' Category
Even though we don’t have end-of-year shows in a physical location, all of you do have portfolios. MOO cards are fabulous and a great way to carry around a bit of your work and make mini-portfolios out of. Lots of examples at the link!
What guidelines do video game artists need to follow to succeed? Volition manager Self-Ballard draws from his experience to suggest three key traits of the best game art creators.3. You can only grow so much through school and work. The best artists hone their skills outside of school and outside of work. They keep creating even when they’re not “on the clock.”
The Game Career Guide does it again! They’ve released all the data for their yearly salary survey for the past three years, all in one place.
Average Salaries for Artists and Animators with Three or Fewer Years Experience
Year Average Salary
2005 $45,675
2006 $42,672
2007 $43,657
Game Career Guide just sent me this amazing news:
For the first time ever, Game Developer’s annual Game Career Guide, a special edition magazine devoted to helping aspiring video game creators, is being given away for free! This issue includes a salary report for entry-level jobs in video game development, as well as numerous articles with tips on breaking into the industry.
I’ve read this issue and trust me, it is jammed with info. There’s a definition of each discipline within the games industry (including artists), the results of the game-school student survey I mentioned a while back, and an enormous directory of game schools. Visit and download!
The Nova Scotia Graduate Tax Credit is available to anyone living and working in Nova Scotia who graduated from an eligible post-secondary program on or after January 1, 2006. This credit could reduce your Nova Scotia income taxes by $1,000 in 2006 and 2007 and by $2,000 in 2008 and later years.
To be eligible, you must:
- be a graduate of an eligible program from an approved institution on or after January 1, 2006; this includes eligible post-secondary programs outside Nova Scotia
- be a resident of Nova Scotia and file a 2006 or later Tax return
- claim the credit on your tax return. Provincial certificates are no longer required to claim the credit.
- claim this credit in the year you graduate; any unused portion may be claimed in the following two years
- claim this credit only once
NEW - You no longer need to apply for a Graduate Tax Credit Certificate.
Just claim the credit on your 2007 or later tax return.
- you need to attach your diploma to your 2007 (or later) tax return (paper version). If you are filing electronically, keep all of your documents in case the Canada Revenue Agency asks to see them
- you can claim this credit only once, even if you graduate from more than one post-secondary eligible program
- claim this credit in the year you graduate; any unused amount may be claimed in the following two years
Have more questions? Check out the website for lots of helpful tips!
You could write the best resume in the world and be highly qualified for a job, but if your cover letter is poorly written, generic, or misguided, you can pretty much throw your chances out the window. The cover letter is your first, and sometimes your only opportunity to grab an employer’s attention and let them know why your resume is worth reading. Since there are many different ways to write a cover letter, depending on the employer and the method of transmission, for example, here are some ways to make yours stand out along with some examples you can tweak to your liking.
We of course have lots of information at our Job Find Club website (students, login to the students’ centre to find it!), but this is a nice step-by-step walkthrough of writing a really good cover letter.
OneLook’s reverse dictionary lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept. Your description can be a few words, a sentence, a question, or even just a single word. Just type it into the box above and hit the “Find words” button. (Keep it short to get the best results.) In most cases you’ll get back a list of related terms with the best matches shown first.
You can use this to look up what the name of that little nub on the end of your shoelace is called, use it as a thesaurus, generate a list of words in a category such as Canadian authors or identify the longest river in the world.
I found this particular reverse dictionary a little cumbersome in that you have to click three times to find out if the word you chose is the correct one, but it’s still more useful than the paper version I have on a shelf at home!
However, the most useful part of this site is the wildcards. With some creative wildcard use, you can have it help you spell words! For instance, I always have to think about how many Cs are in recommend, so I typed in rec*end and was rewarded with the correct spelling! Not sure how many Ms and Rs are in tomorrow? Type in to*ow and there you are!
If you have questions about obtaining a new student loan, or if you want to check on your repayment options for a current student loan, please see below to find the correct loan office in your area.
Provincial and Territorial Student Financial Assistance Offices
- Newfoundland and Labrador
Student Aid Division
Tel.: 709-729-5849
Fax: 709-729-2298
Toll-free: 1-888-657-0800
www.edu.gov.nl.ca/studentaid/
- Prince Edward Island
Student Financial Services
Tel.: 902-368-4640
www.studentloan.pe.ca
- Nova Scotia
Student Assistance Office
Tel.: 902-424-8420
Toll-free: 1-800-565-8420 (within Canada)
TTY: 902-424-2058
www.studentloans.ednet.ns.ca
- New Brunswick
Student Financial Services
Tel.: 506-453-2577 (Fredricton area)
Toll-free: 1-800-667-5626
www.studentaid.gnb.ca
- *Quebec
Aide financière aux études (AFE) reception and enquiries desk
Tel.: 418-643-3750
Toll-free: 1-877-643-3750 (within Canada/US)
www.afe.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.asp
- Ontario
Student Support Branch
Tel.: 807-343-7260 (Ontario students attending a post-secondary institution outside Ontario)
Students attending a post-secondary institution in Ontario must contact the financial aid office at their post-secondary institution for assistance.
Tel.: 1-866-330-3331 (automated telephone voice response system for status of application; available only in Canada)
TDD/TTY: 1-800-465-3958
http://osap.gov.on.ca
- Manitoba
Student Aid Branch
Tel.: 204-945-6321
Tel.: 204-945-2313 (outside Manitoba)
Toll-free: 1-800-204-1685 (within Manitoba)
TTY: 1-866-209-0696 (within North America)
www.studentaid.gov.mb.ca
- Saskatchewan
Student Financial Assistance Branch
Tel.: 306-787-5620 (Regina area and outside Canada)
Toll-free: 1-800-597-8278
www.student-loans.sk.ca
- Alberta
Student Funding Contact Centre
Tel.: 780-427-3722 (Edmonton)
Toll-free: 1-800-222-6485 (in Canada)
www.alis.gov.ab.ca/studentsfinance/main.asp
- British Columbia
Student Aid BC
Tel.: 250-387-6100 (Victoria area)
Tel.: 604-660-2610 (Lower Mainland)
Toll-free: 1-800-561-1818 (anywhere else in Canada/US)
TTY: 250-952-6832
www.studentaidbc.ca
- Yukon
Students Financial Services
Tel.: 867-667-5929
Toll-free: 1-800-661-0408 local 5929 (within Yukon)
www.education.gov.yk.ca/advanceded/sfa/
- *Northwest Territories
Student Financial Assistance
Tel.: 867-873-7190
Toll-free: 1-800-661-0793
www.nwtsfa.gov.nt.ca
- *Nunavut
Student Assistance Office
Toll-free: 1-877-860-0680 (can be used locally)
Tel.: 867-473-2600 (Baffin)
Toll-free: 1-800-567-1514 (Baffin)
Tel.: 867-645-5040 (Kivalliq)
Toll-free 1-800-953-8516 (Kivalliq)
Tel.: 867-983-4031 (Kitikmeot)
Toll-free: 1-800-661-0845 (Kitikmeot)
www.gov.nu.ca/education/eng
* Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and the province of Quebec operate their own student assistance plans. If you are a resident of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories or Quebec, contact the provincial or territorial student assistance office for further information.