(About-ish)

Hello and welcome to my little internet corner; my name is Jagoba “Jake” Marcos. I am a passionate software engineer, a husband, a father and a hardcore gamer.

I started programming when I was 15 years old; it was only a matter of time since my older sister and father are engineers too. My first exposure was with a 386 Windows computer, I enjoyed playing in the black and green screen. But the real deal came with the Windows 95 and the cmd (command line console). Even though windows had a high level user interface, I started using the console more and more.  Since that moment I knew that I was destined to work with computers. And the fact that –like any 90’s kid- I loved playing videogames.

I graduated from Deuto’s University (Spain) with a degree in Computer Engineering. During the 5 year-degree I learnt the foundations of everything related to Computer Science:programming, AI, computer architecture, software design, databases, physics, mathematics, basic finances and encryption. As any engineering degree, it was challenging: long study sessions, class from 8am to 5pm (sometimes until 7pm), large team projects, four hour long written exams, programming exams and so on. However, completing that degree and feeling that sense of accomplishment was worth it. 

During my senior year I got an internship in a prestigious company. I enjoyed learning how the software development business works and being a proactive asset in the development chain. Nevertheless, I felt like something was off; I didn’t want a job from 8am to 7pm and clock out. For some people getting an engineering degree is the end of the path to get to the final goal of a good paying job. In my case I knew that it was just the beginning. If I wanted to become a rock star I had to go where the rock stars were. Knowing that I still had a long path until my final goal, I started my research about what would be my next step. After almost 6 months of intense research, I found a university in Orlando Florida. It had great online recognition. Then the enrollment phase started: there wasn’t any going back. That’s how I ended up in the Game Development Degree at Full Sail University.

There is a big difference identifying your dream and following your dream. People don’t realize how many sacrifices you have to make and how hard the path is. Traveling 4500 miles to a place where you don’t have family, friends or even a familiar face is challenging. However, I would never had made this decision if it wasn’t for my supportive family and friends.

The Full Sail experience was refreshing; it was nothing like the education I received in Spain. The orthodox universities teach a more theoretical way which consists on learning by hearing and reading. It isn’t bad way but when I was introduced to the accelerated Full Sail way it was night and day. The students are involved in hands-on projects since day one. Even with my background I had to work hard to keep it up. 

Finally, over the years I have been hearing the same thing from all the Full Sail students and graduates: “the best thing of Full Sail is the networking”. You can’t reach to the top alone, you need friends and support to achieve greatness.