How Long did it take you to become a Pro Mapper

[Strandedpasta]

How long did it took you to become a Pro Mapper?

Another Question from Cookie. = p
How long did it took you to become an expert at Tf2 Mapping?
Of course I cant predict how long, so what do you guys think how long it takes?

 

[fubarFX]

This is probably a matter of perception but it took me at least 5 years to aquire a level of mastery I was happy with.

 

[Fruity Snacks]

6 years in, and I'm still learning things.

 

[Berry]

∞

 

[TyeZenneth]

I've had hammer open on and off for going on three years now.
Still absolutely clueless.

 

[YM]

December 2014 marked the tipping point at which the majority of my income came from tf2 level design. So from February 2007 until December 2014. So 7 full years from beginner to 'pro'

Still learning things though.

 

[Moonrat]

Being good mapping is all in perspective, I like to think that I am competent but game days show otherwise. Even when you start to think you are getting good you are always learning things, and for whenever you start to get the feeling you are progressing, a reality check happens.

 

[A Boojum Snark]

I was a whiz at entities from day 0 (prior engine experience) but I still suck at layout stuff so...

 

[tyler]

I think I first opened Hammer in late 2007. By the end of the KOTH contest I finally felt like I was finally having good ideas and understanding the underlying reasons people were giving feedback. Today, in 2015, I would not say I am a pro mapper, but I might be close. I would humbly place myself with those who have a lot of technical knowledge but still struggle with implementing ideas.

Like fubar, I'm happy with my skill level. I don't think I'm at the peak though, and I know I will continue to improve.

I typically agree with Malcom Gladwell's assertion that it takes about 10,000 hours of work to become an expert at something. Haven't been able to disprove it yet, and it's based on real research to boot.

 

[Zed]

-7 years.

 

[Uncuepa]

Took me about a year to get good, dont think I'd describe it ever as pro. Always learn and try new things.

 

[Crash]

I've been mapping for about 5-6 years now. I'll leave it up to you to determine my "pro-ness."

 

[chemelia]

I've been mapping for a little bit longer than a year and I'm still bad.

 

[iiboharz]

6 years in, and I'm still learning things.

I can say the same.

 

[Vincent]

For source I've been mapping since 2009, though if a game had an editor I was all over it. A fond favorite of mine from my childhood was the Tony Hawk level editors. Damn those were fun.

"Pro"fessional feels kinda arbitrary if you just map as a hobby. Everyone progresses and learns at a different speed. Once you start making money I would assume it's fair to call yourself a professional mapper.

 

[Egan]

It took me about 3 years (but not full time) to make a decent surf map. A year after that I made the jump to standard mapping (not surf) and it still took another year after to make a decent standard map. So I guess 5 years, but I only know about koth/arena/plr/sd/pd.

 

[Lain]

I have only been really mapping for 4 months give or take, since i got frustrated at how bad my first few maps were and would quit after gamedays lol. I have a long road to go, but i am learning new things every day.

 

[Kube]

I'm certainly no Pro Mapper, but I thought I could give some insight based on my personal experiences.

I joined TF2Maps.net in October of last year, and it took me two months until I released my first map, cp_talon. Now, ten months since joining and eight months since releasing my first map, I think I'm starting to plateau somewhat. I'm still learning all the time (re:Frozen), but I feel I'm at a point where I'm not making maps I don't feel could be readily iterated on without truly major layout changes. I'm probably still a long ways to go from making maps I would benefit from bringing to Beta, but I feel that around a year in (and of course this is different for everyone) you start to appreciate the what's-what of mapping, the mapping community, and layout discipline.

 

[Kill_the_Bug]

I started when it was still the source forge and HL1 - when did I really get into it? Well I joined here in 2008. Am now fairly confident in making maps - the coding...well that's a different story, always something new to learn and recently I've been doing experimentation with new game types

So 7 years later I'm getting comfortable with what I'm doing but as for pro?

 

[Prestige]

I was born this way.