{"628706":{"#nid":"628706","#data":{"type":"news","title":"From Econ Student to Game Editor: Digital Media Alum Edward Zhang Tells His Student Story","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEdward Zhang (M.S. 2019) believes in the power of progress. As a recent graduate of the Digital Media program, he understands what it takes to work for the job you want while appreciating the process of self-growth: \u0026ldquo;As long as you\u0026rsquo;re in the [Digital Media] program, you\u0026rsquo;re making progress.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EZhang currently works as a Localization Editor for a major gaming and animation franchise. His responsibilities include ensuring the design and rules of\u0026nbsp; internationally shipped games are not lost in translation, while also verifying that the games meet the target market\u0026rsquo;s regulation and cultural standard.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I absolutely enjoy my work as it allows me to do what I love while providing an excellent work-life balance,\u0026rdquo; Zhang says. So far, he describes the transition from student to employee to have been \u0026ldquo;smooth and awesome.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I applied [for my job] online in summer, interviewed in November, and started my job in January. I\u0026#39;m definitely a special case in terms of the transition because I was hired half-way through my second year,\u0026rdquo; he explains. \u0026ldquo;The program gave me the flexibility to finish my Master\u0026#39;s Project remotely, which was the final piece to complete my degree.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEvery work day, Zhang uses the game design and coding skills he picked up in his classes and project studios. As a student, he appreciated his professors for providing guidance and support while he learned first-hand how to put his ideas into practice. That\u0026rsquo;s why he chose Digital Media at Georgia Tech in the first place.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;My undergrad degree is in Economics, and I eventually discovered that I didn\u0026rsquo;t want a career in Economics\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; Zhang admits. \u0026ldquo;So I needed DM at GT to help me transition into the industry that I do enjoy which for me is video games.\u0026rdquo; The faculty is very accomplished and students have access to the newest VR\/AR technologies.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe cites the accomplished faculty as a factor that initially attracted him to this program as well as the access to the newest Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies. However, Zhang points out, it\u0026rsquo;s up to the student to utilize these resources for success. Playing with the technology, while that might sound fun, isn\u0026rsquo;t enough. He emphasizes that students should see each project as an opportunity for growth and feel proud to add them to their online portfolios.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The DM program provided me with several valuable portfolio pieces and an exceptional platform to connect with industry professionals,\u0026rdquo; Zhang continues. \u0026ldquo;For example, thanks to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/murray\u0022\u003EDr. Janet Murray\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#39;s connections and encouragement, I was invited to present a VR game my team made in her project studio at Facebook HQ during the very first Oculus Nextgen Symposium.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETo learn more about Zhang\u0026rsquo;s work, visit his \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/edz\/\u0022\u003ELinkedIn\u003C\/a\u003E page. View his previous Digital Media projects on his \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/edmakesgames.com\/\u0022\u003Eportfolio\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;Applications for the Digital Media Graduate Program are accessible\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/grad.gatech.edu\/apply-now\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E, and information for prospective Master\u0026#39;s students can be found on\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/dm.lmc.gatech.edu\/admissions\/application\/ms-applicants\/\u0022\u003Eour applicant page\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Edward Zhang (M.S. 2019) believes in the power of progress. As a recent graduate of the Digital Media program, he understands what it takes to work for the job you want while appreciating the process of self-growth."}],"uid":"35104","created_gmt":"2019-11-07 14:24:10","changed_gmt":"2019-11-13 17:55:37","author":"mmargarella3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-11-07T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2019-11-07T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"628704":{"id":"628704","type":"image","title":"Digital Media Alum Edward Zhang, M.S. 2019","body":null,"created":"1573136202","gmt_created":"2019-11-07 14:16:42","changed":"1573136202","gmt_changed":"2019-11-07 14:16:42","alt":"Digital Media Alum Edward Zhang, M.S. 2019","file":{"fid":"239440","name":"GetPersonaPhoto.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/GetPersonaPhoto.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/GetPersonaPhoto.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6990,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/GetPersonaPhoto.jpg?itok=3Mhferax"}}},"media_ids":["628704"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/dm.lmc.gatech.edu\/admissions\/prospective-students\/ph-d-applicants\/","title":"Digital Media PhD Information"},{"url":"https:\/\/dm.lmc.gatech.edu\/admissions\/application\/ms-applicants\/","title":"Digital Media Master\u0027s Information"}],"groups":[{"id":"275211","name":"Digital Media Program of the School of Literature, Media, and Communication"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"183002","name":"Edward Zhang"},{"id":"183003","name":"game editor"},{"id":"10658","name":"game design"},{"id":"3925","name":"janet murray"},{"id":"124","name":"Digital Media"},{"id":"183004","name":"alumni highlights"},{"id":"28201","name":"Alum"},{"id":"10835","name":"Facebook"},{"id":"183005","name":"master\u0027s project"},{"id":"39781","name":"LMC"},{"id":"4534","name":"animation"},{"id":"145251","name":"virtual reality"},{"id":"1597","name":"Augmented Reality"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMaria Elena Margarella\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGraduate Research Assistant, Digital Media\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Emargarella@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}