I moved out of state and got paid peanuts to even get experience as a game programmer. I could have taken a biotech job offer and probably would have been paid 4 times as much.

Quote: Original post by dmikesell


Where is 70k entry for business developers? In NYC? SF? In Columbus Ohio, it's closer to $45-50k.

Seattle, S.F., LA. West coast is about 10k a year higher then east coast for some reason.

House's are expensive in Sf and LA, however, probablly at least $500k. Seattle isn't so bad, more like $300k.

I am a recent college grad, and I haven't heard of any of my peers earning over $50K out of college. I am an entry-level programmer at NASA, and I earn less than $50K. However, I can expect many significant raises/promotions over the next couple years, similar to my friends in the regular business world... But what type of career growth can you expect as an entry level programmer these days?

In my experience, recent college grads always lowball themselves. It takes them a couple years to learn what's up

Quote: Original post by david_dfx
I am a recent college grad, and I haven't heard of any of my peers earning over $50K out of college. I am an entry-level programmer at NASA, and I earn less than $50K. However, I can expect many significant raises/promotions over the next couple years, similar to my friends in the regular business world... But what type of career growth can you expect as an entry level programmer these days?

There is one sector of programmers that pays even less than game programmers; government programmers. Unlike the business guys, I got a pay raise when I left the government to go to a games company. (To be honest, I lost vacation time, one of the big perqs of gov't work).

Quote: Original post by ironpoint
In my experience, recent college grads always lowball themselves. It takes them a couple years to learn what's up

Very true. When I took the job I have now, I accepted the first offer they gave. I've been promoted twice and received a few raises, so I'm about where I should be now.

I don't get the impression that if you have great ideas for games that you should be in the games industry. Can you work a regular programming job and make a game on the side? (More rewarding, less overall work... no crunch times comparable to what the games industry has)

I'm in RTP and $55,000 seems common for CSC grads. I'm graduating in 1 month and that's what I'm expecting. You've just got to get at least a year's experience before you graduate in order to do well.

The salary ranges a lot based on where you live. From what I've seen, game development companies tend to be located in expensive locales. Mostly west coast. For the small number of companies on the east coast you've got places like Boston, and Atlanta, NYC, etc.

As a business app developer, I live in an area that has a fairly low cost of living. That being said, I make below the US nation wide average for a software engineer (but good for what monster salary says I should make in my area). On the other hand, I'm on par with what Game Developer magazine says the average game developer makes. Basically what this means is, there is a gap, but not tremendous, if you land a game programming job in a location with a low cost of living like orlando, you probably will make the same as (or very close to) the business side of the house.

Also, keep in mind that this gap has shrunk in the last couple of years and continues to do so as the industry grows. Hopefully the industry will continue to grow.

I dunno if this is legal or not - but if it isn't hopefully the mods will remove it -

anyways, I subscribed to the pamphlet sized Game Developers magazine and after 6 months of waiting for it to arrive it is here at last - and this issue was their annual game developer salary survey.

Here is what a programmer makes -
a typical programmer/engineer working <3 years makes $54,300
a tyipcal lead programmer working <3 years makes $58,486
a typical technical director working <3 years makes $63,750

a typical programmer/engineer working 3-6 years makes $68,072
a tyipcal lead programmer working 3-6 years makes $81,155
a typical technical director working 3-6 years makes $77,129

a typical programmer/engineer working >6 years makes $86,243
a tyipcal lead programmer working >6 years makes $93,067
a typical technical director working >6 years makes $115,087


On average 72% obtain $21,872 in additional compensation.

The highest salary for programmers received in this survey was $211,500

There are other professions but since you specifically asked for programmer thats all I gave you.

When I was leaving college in about 1999 or so, the average starting salary was $32k-$38k for programmers (in standard cost of living locations like Nashville, TN - Houston, Dallas, Austin, etc). The average starting salary for this same area is now about $40k-$45 I believe (with occasional outliers between $35k-$52k).

When you have 2-4 years experience, depending on domain, specialty, and demand, you will likely make $45k-$65k. When you have about 5 years experience, you will likely make between $52k-$85k. Notice the bottom numbers you might make do not rise very fast (but do move steadly), but the top numbers rise $5k-$10k with each year of experience (which is more than most people's raises, which is why people change jobs all the time in this industry to get better salaries).

Anyway - The 3 times I've looked at game programming jobs I would have to have A) taken a pay cut, B) moved, and C) worked longer hours. When I only had 2 years experience, the pay cut would have been about $5k, when I had 4 year the pay cut I was looking at was about $10k, and currently I would take at least a $15k pay cut to be in games (with about a $25k pay cut for the first job to get the initial credentials needed for a job of my skill / experience level).