Welcome to EmpowerUp! This is a podcast where Steve Meim and Byron Beasley talk about anything related to the gaming industry. Steve is an industry veteran with over 15 years of experience working at places such as Sony Interactive Entertainment(PlayStation). Byron is an app developer with a passion for helping others. Each episode aims to be educational in nature, and may include guests from around the industry.

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In this episode, Byron and Steve welcome Kain Shepard to the podcast. Kain is a recent graduate as well as Technical Artist at Sony Interactive Entertainment. Kain shares some insight into what he thinks contributed to him landing an industry job directly after college. Kain can be found online at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kainshepard

Putting in the Work: EmpowerUp Podcast

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In this episode, Byron and Steve discuss what it means to show your worth in the professional world. Steve mentions strategies that younger workers can apply in the workforce for cases such as salary negotiation.

Proving Your Worth in the Workplace: EmpowerUp Podcast

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In this episode, Steve and Byron discuss what it takes to get into the industry. There was a specific focus on game design but the ideas apply to many different disciplines. They talk about the best approach to take in regards to portfolios and how to best approach the job search.

Getting Started in the Industry: EmpowerUp Podcast

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In this episode, special guest Carlos Noguez shares his perspective on what it means to give back to the community. Carlos is a game dev enthusiast with strong ties to both San Diego and Tijuana. He aims to unite both regions and also give a leg up to the youth of Tijuana. He supports many initiatives such as Build A Miracle. Carlos can be found at: LinkedIn under Carlos Noguez and Twitter under CANworkshop

Giving Back to The Community : EmpowerUp Podcast

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In this episode, Byron and Steve bring on special guest Jacob Freeland. Jacob is an engineer in the industry with a strong focus on game design. He discusses how he collects his thoughts when designing a new project and goes into detail into what it means to be a designer. Many of the topics discussed were accompanied by visual aids on our livestream, so here is a link to that as well: https://www.twitch.tv/empowerup

Approaching Game Design: EmpowerUp Podcast

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In this episode, Byron and Steve discuss different approaches to gaming/entertainment industry job markets. Byron discusses the steps he took to get a recent job offer and comments on some advice he&#39;s been given along the way. He and Steve discuss what works and what doesn&#39;t in the job search and again stress the importance of putting one&#39;s self out there on media platforms like LinkedIn.

Approaching the Job Market: EmpowerUp Podcast

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In this episode, Byron and Steve bring in software engineer Antonio Carrion to talk about accessibility in games. Examples are brought up in games such as Darksouls, Soul Sacrifice and Street Fighter. They also discuss how to deal personal growth and surrounding oneself with a positive group of friends.

Accessibility in Games: EmpowerUp Podcast

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In this episode Byron and Steve discuss the gap between the typical college graduate and a candidate ready to enter the workforce. Steve provides examples from a recruiter&#39;s point of view as to how young professionals can deal with this. Byron also shares his experience as it pertains to the workforce from a young professional&#39;s perspective. They also discuss ways of dealing with burnout and their own specific workflows for being productive in multiple aspects of their lives.

College vs Industry: EmpowerUp Podcast

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In this episode, Byron and Steve discuss different aspects of the gaming industry while primarily focusing on networking. They also go over Steve&#39;s philosophy when it comes to life and the acronym he likes to use. They also discuss different events and organizations that people can look into if they want to get more involved in the gaming industry.

Networking in the Game Industry: EmpowerUp Podcast

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This is a practice stream in which Steve and Byron discuss how to use LinkedIn more effectively. Steve has years of experience in the gaming industry and was recently given the title of recruiter so he decides to share some of his experience from a recruiter&#39;s perspective

Effectively Using LinkedIn: EmpowerUp Podcast