If you're going into programming only for the money, pick another field. It's a job where you get blamed for everything, thanked for nothing and live under constant pressure from unrealistic deadlines. You also get a "Socially Awkward" tattoo on your forehead once you start working in the field, deserved or not. As a bonus, it's worse if you work for a video game company.
If you're fine with the above, then yes you can make a decent living out of it. Just keep in mind salaries are in direct relation with demand. I don't know about the USA, but demand around here is much higher than the offer, so salaries are above average at the moment. If the market crashes like it did in 2001, that decent living wage will be gone.
Programming as a career... Worth it?
IMHO, money is a terrible life goal. Obviously you want enough to be comfortable, but you should want to do something you enjoy doing. If you really enjoy programming then obviously that's a good career choice. If you super love games and care less about money then game programming is a good choice (you make about 30% less programming games than you do programming in any other context).
-me
-me
Forget the money. Do what you like, and should that be to program and do problem solving then so be it. Do not even waste time on thinking about money. Spend time improving your skills and have fun while doing it. It is your passion that shall push you forward and not the cash.
One good reason for me to go to engineering school was to open up more possibilities for myself.
I figured out I could have a reasonable salary as a factory worker where I used to work as a mechanic assembling new mobile machines. I was pretty damn good at it after only a few years in the job. But that was actually part of the problem - I noticed I was running out of challenge in my job. And I looked at the older guys doing the same job and asked myself "do I want to end up like them, bitter and whining about the job pretty much every day and being jealous towards anyone who worked to get into a better position?" No, I didn't want to be one of those guys... so I left the job I enjoyed doing a lot and went studying.
It was actually hard to walk away from that job as I had become pretty damn good in it and I enjoyed it a lot! But I saw I would quickly run out of challenges in that position and that's the main reason I felt I need to get out - the main reason was not money! Many people who have continued in that job surely have made more money than I have as I've lost of lot because of the studies. But I have more options open for me as I go hunt for a job - the guys without any education are pretty much stuck at the factory and are whining about it and being very jealous and bitter towards anyone who tries to improve his or her position - that's dumb but that's what they do.
I figured out I could have a reasonable salary as a factory worker where I used to work as a mechanic assembling new mobile machines. I was pretty damn good at it after only a few years in the job. But that was actually part of the problem - I noticed I was running out of challenge in my job. And I looked at the older guys doing the same job and asked myself "do I want to end up like them, bitter and whining about the job pretty much every day and being jealous towards anyone who worked to get into a better position?" No, I didn't want to be one of those guys... so I left the job I enjoyed doing a lot and went studying.
It was actually hard to walk away from that job as I had become pretty damn good in it and I enjoyed it a lot! But I saw I would quickly run out of challenges in that position and that's the main reason I felt I need to get out - the main reason was not money! Many people who have continued in that job surely have made more money than I have as I've lost of lot because of the studies. But I have more options open for me as I go hunt for a job - the guys without any education are pretty much stuck at the factory and are whining about it and being very jealous and bitter towards anyone who tries to improve his or her position - that's dumb but that's what they do.
You really do just have to love programming. You need to have an infinite stamina with regard to debugging code. I would never recommend this career just for the money. I know many people who quit CS early on simply because they discovered early on that they could not stand coding for so long.
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Thank you everyone for your input, but i keep seeing "Going into programming for money is stupid" when i already said i love programming, but i really just want to know if i should make it a hobby or a career. If i can make 70k a year in other fields that i still love, but not as much as programming, and i can still keep programming as a hobby, well i'd probably choose it if i though maybe programming was a dying field. I understand game programmers make a bit less, but i also know that game programmers get more of a interactive feel of their work. Whereas a application programmer would make something, and get little response other than "Good job" rather than "The physics in this game is so realistic! I love you and want to have your babies!" (maybe not THAT much, but you get what i mean)
I love games. I love designing games, but as i can tell a game designer is a broad term, whereas i believe a programmer can pitch an idea and have the design team run with it. I have no idea exactly how the bureaucracy of the industry works, I assume that anyone can give ideas. I am currently going to stretch away from DarkGDK and move to SDL and OpenGL since i currently am running a linux machine, and i think having multiplatform experience can only help in the long run. I am learning JAVA pretty well in school, but nothing advanced other than some basic coding techniques, of which i mostly know. What really makes me upset is next year the school is adding a tech center where they have a game programming and development class >< might wanna fail this year eh? :P
I love games. I love designing games, but as i can tell a game designer is a broad term, whereas i believe a programmer can pitch an idea and have the design team run with it. I have no idea exactly how the bureaucracy of the industry works, I assume that anyone can give ideas. I am currently going to stretch away from DarkGDK and move to SDL and OpenGL since i currently am running a linux machine, and i think having multiplatform experience can only help in the long run. I am learning JAVA pretty well in school, but nothing advanced other than some basic coding techniques, of which i mostly know. What really makes me upset is next year the school is adding a tech center where they have a game programming and development class >< might wanna fail this year eh? :P
You can make good money programing how much will depend mainly on job market where you are and the company you get in with. To get the best paying job means moving to where the work is, and sometimes moving jobs every couple of years. The other thing to remember is that games industry is notorious for high burn out and overworking its staff.
The amount of praise and benefits you get will depend a lot on the corporate culture where you work. For instance a number of people have been rewarded for going above and beyond where I work with an ipad, and at another company I’ve worked with they sent a team of 20 to Dubai for 10 days as thanks for delivering a big project on time.
To be honest I suggest you ignore learning Java. If you want to get a job IT you’ll want .net and MVC and as part of your core skill set. If you’re set on the games industry you’ll want to C++ and OpenGL.
The amount of praise and benefits you get will depend a lot on the corporate culture where you work. For instance a number of people have been rewarded for going above and beyond where I work with an ipad, and at another company I’ve worked with they sent a team of 20 to Dubai for 10 days as thanks for delivering a big project on time.
To be honest I suggest you ignore learning Java. If you want to get a job IT you’ll want .net and MVC and as part of your core skill set. If you’re set on the games industry you’ll want to C++ and OpenGL.
Quote:Original post by Tiblanc
If you're going into programming only for the money, pick another field. It's a job where you get blamed for everything, thanked for nothing and live under constant pressure from unrealistic deadlines. You also get a "Socially Awkward" tattoo on your forehead once you start working in the field, deserved or not. As a bonus, it's worse if you work for a video game company.
Yes it's funny to have to be almost einsteinian to do well but then you are bound to be disparaged by some secretary or data entry monkey of a client for how idiotic you are for some minor problem dismayingly often.
The social problem is real because you will mostly work with all guys at most companies, mostly stereotypical nerds and spend most of your time staring at a computer and likely work long hours.
It's great in some ways but definitely has drawbacks.
Not trying to be a downer or anything, but if you have to ask this question then I would say it probably isn't for you. :) Im a senior in college about to graduate with my CS degree and I am going to continue into this field whether I have to take a job making 30k or 80k. I love coding, though it can definitely be a chore when its not something I want to code, so maybe you might just want to stick with it as a hobby? Or you could go with something more general such as a math degree, that way if you dont like programming as a career, you still have a lot of options open to you.
Hope that helps!
Hope that helps!
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Quote:Original post by Azh321
Not trying to be a downer or anything, but if you have to ask this question then I would say it probably isn't for you.
That is offensive. It's basically asking "Is this a good career to get into?" I've already said i can program, i just was asking some salary and availability of jobs questions.
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