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Forums - Sony Discussion - How much do video game programmers make?

Tanstalas on 24 February 2010
jneul said:
Tanstalas said:
Xoj said:
jneul said:
I dunno what good employers pay, but my old boss was a skinflint used to give me 20k a year for being a software programmer, but i quit due to the stress, and the way they treated me

thats decent in here , here we made 1400-1800$ for software developers

and many even start at 800$ monthly.

engineers got 1800-4000$+

 

about how they treat you, yeah, software people are always pulled down, because they think programing it's "easy"

well it is, for people that like it.

Geez, move to Canada, those are terrible wages, well, I guess it depends on your cost of living as well.  Programmers here make a decent amount, depending on job/employer, etc I would say most entry level jobs don't start at less than 50k

I always wanted to move to canada lol, don't you need to meet cetain criteria tho??

I saw you lived in the UK, not sure where in the UK, but I think depending on what part of the UK it may be easier?  I would think British citizens would be easier to get in since, well, I mean we still have the Queens picture on our $ haha.



Unicorns ARE real - They are just fat, grey and called Rhinos

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BW_JP on 24 February 2010

well.. it depends. a lot you are missing the different types of video game programmers. Typically computer engineers are hired to be "Tools or Engine developers" and will get paid as professional (PEng) Engineers. I am employed and making 72,000 CAD/yr as a Computer Engineer and it's my 2nd year working. I work on tools.

 

Edit to compare with the previous post for those that are lazy thats 6000/month. I started (first year) at 52,000. I expect 90k before my 5th year.

 

For anyone trying to do this, the absolute best route is Computer engineering. You learn a lot of the buisness / project management skills you wont get in CS. Also, you are much better trained to work with mathematics and modeling. CS is mostly good at optimization and algorithms. It's a science remember, not an application. a CE will get hired every time over a CS >> everything else.

 

any "video game" program is a waste of time, you'll never get a good job with it.



Tanstalas on 24 February 2010
BW_JP said:

well.. it depends. a lot you are missing the different types of video game programmers. Typically computer engineers are hired to be "Tools or Engine developers" and will get paid as professional (PEng) Engineers. I am employed and making 72,000 CAD/yr as a Computer Engineer and it's my 2nd year working. I work on tools.

 

Edit to compare with the previous post for those that are lazy thats 6000/month. I started (first year) at 52,000. I expect 90k before my 5th year.

 

For anyone trying to do this, the absolute best route is Computer engineering. You learn a lot of the buisness / project management skills you wont get in CS. Also, you are much better trained to work with mathematics and modeling. CS is mostly good at optimization and algorithms. It's a science remember, not an application. a CE will get hired every time over a CS >> everything else.

 

any "video game" program is a waste of time, you'll never get a good job with it.

Although, if you make a decent game for XBL and it sells a lot you can make a good deal of $ :)



Unicorns ARE real - They are just fat, grey and called Rhinos

BW_JP on 24 February 2010
Tanstalas said:
BW_JP said:

well.. it depends. a lot you are missing the different types of video game programmers. Typically computer engineers are hired to be "Tools or Engine developers" and will get paid as professional (PEng) Engineers. I am employed and making 72,000 CAD/yr as a Computer Engineer and it's my 2nd year working. I work on tools.

 

Edit to compare with the previous post for those that are lazy thats 6000/month. I started (first year) at 52,000. I expect 90k before my 5th year.

 

For anyone trying to do this, the absolute best route is Computer engineering. You learn a lot of the buisness / project management skills you wont get in CS. Also, you are much better trained to work with mathematics and modeling. CS is mostly good at optimization and algorithms. It's a science remember, not an application. a CE will get hired every time over a CS >> everything else.

 

any "video game" program is a waste of time, you'll never get a good job with it.

Although, if you make a decent game for XBL and it sells a lot you can make a good deal of $ :)

oh, of course. Creating games like that is not the same as making full titles. In the indie dev world, most of the team will be designers. the profit of those people is highly based on luck, talent, and creativity. Of course, its not something to go into unless you have a solid education to fall back on, since its really unlikely you'll succeed. with my position, I can do this and get into game design, but i can always fall back and be a tools /engine developer or work for another industry. 



Sekishu on 28 February 2010
Tanstalas said:
BW_JP said:

well.. it depends. a lot you are missing the different types of video game programmers. Typically computer engineers are hired to be "Tools or Engine developers" and will get paid as professional (PEng) Engineers. I am employed and making 72,000 CAD/yr as a Computer Engineer and it's my 2nd year working. I work on tools.

 

Edit to compare with the previous post for those that are lazy thats 6000/month. I started (first year) at 52,000. I expect 90k before my 5th year.

 

For anyone trying to do this, the absolute best route is Computer engineering. You learn a lot of the buisness / project management skills you wont get in CS. Also, you are much better trained to work with mathematics and modeling. CS is mostly good at optimization and algorithms. It's a science remember, not an application. a CE will get hired every time over a CS >> everything else.

 

any "video game" program is a waste of time, you'll never get a good job with it.

Although, if you make a decent game for XBL and it sells a lot you can make a good deal of $ :)

But then again, probably around 1 in 100 titles sell enough to break even, 1 in 1000 titles earn enough profit for a living, 1 in 10000 titles earn enough to make you rich.



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Fireburden5 on 28 February 2010

Someone at a university near me finished their course and went straight on to Ubisoft earning £80,000.



Platinums/100% Completion: Super Stardust HD, Linger In Shadows, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Burnout Paradise, Shaun White Snowboarding, Tomb Raider: Underworld, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, LittleBigPlanet, Terminator: Salvation, Assassin's Creed II, WipEout HD, Ratchet And Clank: A Crack In Time, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, God Of War, God of War II, God of War III, inFamous.

Working on: GTA IV - 87%, Batman: Arkham Asylum - 80%.

 

Goodfella on 28 February 2010




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