Game Designer or Bust

[KAS--Will]

Hello all,
I'm currently studying at Moreno Valley Community College, and trying to find a job for just about anything in the game industry (with some restrictions... I refuse to work for Treyarch and if I can avoid it an Activision 1st party developer).

I'll try to upload my work as I learn more on making my own Unreal Tournament maps (we use Unreal Editor 3). I used to use Source SDK, but never really completely understood what I was doing, I was using the Source SDK help wiki through developing a map completely through my head. I also have some experience and am taking a class with 3D Modeling with Autodesk Maya. Next Semester I'm taking a class on animation.

So am I on the right track to becoming a game developer? If not, how do I earn experience in a game industry? By being an intern? Because a lot of the jobs I've been looking at for a game designer requires at least one published AAA game, which I'll never accomplish if every developer wants someone with at least 2+ years of experience.

Thanks for any feedback.