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So Who Makes the Most Money?

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Started by SuBM1T March 17, 2009 12:09 PM

36 comments, last by Porsche_Man 15 years, 1 month ago

SuBM1T

100

Author

March 17, 2009 09:41 PM

Quote:Original post by Washu
Quote:Original post by SuBM1T
So what are the other careers that pertain to the field of Computer Science that make a hefty salary?

Again, wrong question. Software developers don't tend to make the same as many other fields, they also tend to have to work worse hours (in all fields), and many states have strange laws that will prevent you from claiming overtime (California for instance).

Furthermore, if you enter the field based on "making lots of money" ideas you'll be a shitty developer, get poor reviews, won't be selected for promotions, and will most likely be the first person cut when the company down sizes :).

Also, The Daily WTF is not a prime example of the general skill level out there for developers, it is the exception, not the rule.

Wow, I feel like I'm getting flammed. If you would have read the ealier posts I stated that I am a gamer and aspiring to work in the game industry. I never said money was an incentive, I just wanted to the know the differences of salaries among different positions in game development. I made no other references to different fields of work.

Codeka

1,239

March 17, 2009 09:51 PM

Quote:Original post by SuBM1T
Wow, I feel like I'm getting flammed. If you would have read the ealier posts I stated that I am a gamer and aspiring to work in the game industry. I never said money was an incentive, I just wanted to the know the differences of salaries among different positions in game development. I made no other references to different fields of work.

The point people are making to you is that you should not aspire to a position based in any way on the amount of money someone can make in that position. The fact is, if you want to work in the video games industry, you need lots of passion, and if money is your motiving factor, then you simply don't have the required level of passion. Most people who make games for a living would do it for free if they couldn't do it for pay. Fact is, you gotta pay the bills, so you may as well get paid while you're doing it.

As mentioned, if money is what you are concerned about, don't go into the video games industry.

Quote:Original post by SuBM1T
So what are the other careers that pertain to the field of Computer Science that make a hefty salary?

In one post you're asking what other computer science fields make a good salary, and in the next you're saying you make "no other references to different fields of work." What do you want? Do you want to work in the video games industry, or do you want to make a hefty salary?

War Worlds • Journal

SuBM1T

100

Author

March 17, 2009 10:07 PM

When I said field I meant Computer Science. I wanted to know the differences among different careers in Computer Science.

Codeka

1,239

March 17, 2009 10:56 PM

Quote:Original post by SuBM1T
When I said field I meant Computer Science. I wanted to know the differences among different careers in Computer Science.

I would say the simple answer would be that software developers in the finance sector earn quite a bit more than game developers. As would those in the engineering sector, perhaps (e.g. things like aviation, etc). Database professionals can earn quite a bit, depending on what their area of expertise is.

Again, though, basing your career choices on how much money you're likely to earn will only end in you choosing a career path that is wrong for you. You're going to be working for at least 40-50% of your waking hours (in whatever field you choose) so why spend your time depressed or bored out of your mind for those hours just so you can be marginally more comfortable (money doesn't make you happy, but it can make you more comfortable) in the other 50%?

Whatever field you choose, software engineers get a decent salary.

War Worlds • Journal

Reegan

100

March 18, 2009 12:18 AM

Jesus Christ! would you guys stop repeating each other, the OP only wants to know the average salary of developers in the games industry.

I think he understands by now that going for a job in the games industry for the money is a bad choice and will be disappointed, so are we clear on that?

Anyway, i think skillset lists the average salary in the games industry, but i think its in UK pounds (not US dollars)

http://www.skillset.org/games/

sorry, if your not from the UK but that site has some information you may find useful as im sure UK game dev companies do not differ much from US or anywhere else for that mater.

As for a direct listing, im not sure as ive never worked in the games industry, I would love to work in the industry, but as a hobby is great too! [smile]

Hope that helps [smile]

Saruman

4,339

March 18, 2009 12:38 AM

If money is one of your top conditions I don't think you can possibly beat the financial sector, considering with a few years experience you are pulling 95+ easily, and then after a few years experience in either trading systems and/or risk management it is hard to make less than 120.

Trapper Zoid

1,370

March 18, 2009 01:29 AM

Quote:Original post by Saruman
If money is one of your top conditions I don't think you can possibly beat the financial sector, considering with a few years experience you are pulling 95+ easily, and then after a few years experience in either trading systems and/or risk management it is hard to make less than 120.

Not to mention that if your top priority is money, then it's not a bad idea to pick a career area that revolves around that. [wink]

kyoryu

224

March 18, 2009 02:39 AM

You can make decent money in *any* position in games (for a given definition of decent, that is).

Going into a games position that you are passionate about is more likely to lead to better performance, and therefore more frequent and larger raises/promotions, than going into one just because it makes more money.

If you want to do art, do art. While software engineering may pay on average more money, if you're passionate about art, you'll probably do a better job, and make more money in the long run. If you hate coding, you'll probably do a poor job of it and never make much of a career of it. The minor difference in average salary is going to be offset by the passion you bring to the job.

fruni

122

March 18, 2009 05:04 AM

My uncle is a business programmer, he enjoys his work very much and is very good at it. He is not full time as far as I know but he is so good that the leader of the corporation (corporation, not company) flew up here just to talk to him. Imo as long as you like programming, any direction should be good. And I am going to assume that you can make Indie games in your off time, if you enjoy it enough.

Just my humble opinion, not saying to go with business programming just wanted to type that out. I don't see why so many people assume it so dull, one of the best parts about programming is when you make something useful or finish a project and you finished that last error and your ready to share it, and that happens a little more in business programming I assume.

anyway, back ontopic, I am going to assume the guys in charge make the most money... but aside from that, I would say the animators because they get paid quite a bit for each job and they do a LOT of jobs.

CloudShawChina

100

March 18, 2009 06:10 AM

Quote:Original post by Palidine
Quote:Original post by SuBM1T
According to the article thats posted above programmers make 80k which is a lot in my opinion.

Depends where you live. In San Francisco / LA, you'll be comfortable but not "rich". It's also not enough to buy a house there for a few years. Also, I don't think anyone offers that as a starting salary unless you're the mac-daddy of programming. Starting engineer salaries are normally around 60-70k

And as the above poster pointed out, you can do the same thing in any other industry and get 90-100k starting salary. Not to mention that my yearly bonus in games is ~$7,000 and in web-programming it was never less than $20,000

Don't go into games for money. Go into it because you love games and are obsessed with them. No one here is in it for the money and you'll be sad every bonus season when you friends are buying shiny Lotuses [smile].

I took a 30% base pay cut and a 60% cut on my yearly bonus to work a harder job for 2x the hours because it's infinitely more fun. If that sounds crazy to you, don't go into game development.

-me

I want to know the average house price there in NewYork or other big city in US?

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