10. A little patience goes a long way

Chances are, when you first start applying for jobs in the game industry, you might not get very many replies. This has all been covered above, but one important thing to hit on is the importance of having a little patience. It usually takes artists a few years to get really good and be industry ready. Finishing a one or two year art diploma program and expecting instant results will certainly harm you more than help.

Deploying a little patience and actually falling in love with the process of creating game art rather than being 100% focused on the end game of getting a job/money will help you from falling into a hole of depression and burn out before your career even begins. Just keep hammering on what you can control and have faith if you keep going you will smash through your goals eventually. It is going to take thousands of hours (some say 10k hours) to master your craft, so the more you put in outside of school/work, the faster you will get there. Avoid doing the bare minimum to pass a class and instead create your own set of goals and a timeline of taking action to achieve them.