To become a programmer or an animator?

[warp X 192]

I have a question that is troubling me: whether I should become a game programmer or a 3d-animator? I have artistic skills but could learn to be a good programmer also. Should I not compromise and do both? Do programmers and animators get paid about the same? "I got stuck between levels 4 and 5 and got into this strange place: warp X..."

[Gumpngreen 122]

The real thing is... do you enjoy programming all day long? I''ve known co-workers to get burned out after only a couple years. Some people "say" they want to be a programmer but find they can''t take it after only a month or so.

[Xai 1851]

you will only earn the big bucks in either field if you follow your passion ... there are many moderately paid grunts in each profession, but if you develop real talent and create with passion you may earn a very nice salary. Or you could learn both, and eventually get the big bucks as a product director ...

[Tiffany_Smith 1300]

I completely agree with Xai. Go with what makes you happy, that way you will have a much higher chance of success.

[pinacolada 834]

On average, programmers get paid more. But like has been said before, you should think more about what you want to do.

In some ways, I envy the artists & musicians. There''s a much shorter distance between their work and the final product of the game, so their creative "vision" actually has a visible place. What I mean is, an artist can point at the final game and say "I drew those guy", and a musician can say "I composed that song", but when the programmer writes, say, a really optimized search function, who''s going to know?