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Dulfite on 11 November 2020
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shikamaru317 said:
Dulfite said:
shikamaru317 said:

I just hope that your average grunt developers will actually see a pay raise thanks to the increase to $70/80 euros. Sadly, I suspect that the extra money will all go to line the already fat wallets of the executives, bastards like Bobby Kotick over at Activision, who gets paid 319x more than the average Activision game developer gets paid. AAA game development seems like one of the lowest paid fields that typically requires 4 years of college, only a handful of other college degree requiring professions like teachers seem to get paid less than AAA game developers. Add on to that crunch as well, which in some cases is non-paid overtime, and I can't help but feel bad for AAA developers.  

I don't think I'd go that far for annual salary. Per hour? Yeah I could see that. But that's because of crunch time.

I heard once from a guy in carpentry (like 30 years of experience) that he researched it and learned around 97% of college graduates make less than people in trade skill jobs (welders, boilermakers, carpenters, etc.).

A ton of professions that require college degrees make less than developers. Marketing, business, communications majors probably on average make considerably less than developers. Teachers do get shafted though, I know because I was one for 4 years. Now everytime I look at teaching openings I look at the pay and it makes me run far away (and I worked for one of the best paying school districts in my states before I quit and it still pays nothing compared to what I will be making in a few years with my new career). As much as I have a passion for teaching, I have a greater passion for providing for my family and getting into a situation where my wife doesn't have to work as much.

If you look at in terms of salary, the pay seems fine on paper. 60-90k a year doesn't seem too bad compared to most college degree jobs. Problem is that most AAA game studios are located near big cities where the cost of living is very high. A teacher making 35k a year where I live is actually earning more than a game developer who is making 70k a year in Los Angeles. Housing alone costs nearly 4x as much in L.A. than it does in my area, gas costs 50% more, groceries 50% more, healthcare costs more, California has more than 4% higher state income tax than my state. And though LA is probably a worst case scenario in terms of cost of living, alot of the other AAA studios are also in cities where the cost of living is still very high. 

Don't get my wrong, I agree that teachers are grossly underpaid considering how important of a job teaching is, but a teacher can technically make more in certain low cost of living areas than a game developer in a high cost of living city. 

Cost of living is for sure a factor. But there are TONS of developer jobs outside of gaming, and companies scattered all throughout the country need developers. They are projected like an 18% rise in demand for developers over the next 5-10 years. Not to mention, roughly 12% of Americans have moved, are moving, or are planning to move to smaller towns and smaller states to have lower cost of living due to Covid making companies make many positions permanently remote. That shows more companies are getting behind the idea of permanent remote work, which means the cost of living won't be an issue soon. In a few years, it will be far easier to make good money while avoiding major cities like SF, LA, or Atlanta.

Regarding teachers, by the way, they pay a LOT more of their salary to retirement (we paid 14.5%), so in the short term that 35k is even less. Also, insurance for teachers is terrible. I live in Missouri. My insurance, to pay for an entire family plan, would have been like $1400 a month. My current job for a sales company is far better insurance and I only pay like $650 a month. Teachers are screwed in many different ways, not just annual salary.