I don't see why statistics are demanded here when simple logic is all that it takes to explain why generalist game degrees are useless:
- Games are extremely complex entities involving many disparate disciplines
- Specialist degrees by themselves are often not enough to fully train someone to excel in their chosen field; games are so demanding that we often have to fall back on things like required prior experience (for non-entry positions) or heavily bias towards portfolio work (for entry positions). This indicates that a degree by itself is not enough to be competitive, even if it's a specialist degree.
- Generalist degrees do not, by definition, provide the level of competency in any field that a specialist degree provides in a single field.
- If a specialist degree isn't enough, a generalist degree must therefore be even less sufficient.
- We can thus conclude that, by simple logic, the odds of getting a good hire from a combination of specialized degree and portfolio/etc. are going to exceed the odds of getting a good hire from a generalist program, especially if we consider the fact that truly good people generally have the passion and discipline (not to mention good sense) to specialize in the first place.
Et voila. No need for collected statistics; we can infer everything we need to know from basic common sense and a little knowledge of how the hiring process tends to work.
To reinforce this: I've yet to encounter anyone with a generalist degree that has any skills worth hiring them for
as a result of obtaining the degree. In fact I only know of a couple of people with general degrees who would be worth hiring
at all, and they're only exceptions because they already chose to specialize long before they got to the job market. I know quite a few people
without relevant degrees who have become exceptional specialists, who I'd hire in a heartbeat given the chance, simply because they have chosen a single field and decided to excel within it.
Or to flip the issue on its head: can you give me any good reasons why someone with a generalist game degree will be a better hire for
any position than someone with specialization and/or experience?
