For the past several months I've been prepairing two programming tech demos to get in the Flash game industry. I would rather work in a traditional medium but I'm told the possibility of getting a job doing C++ games online is pretty slim. I've consulted some people on the matter and so far it all seems ok, I was told I could expect anywhere between $2300 to $2600 a month according to some people from Australia and Canada that I consulted with. Except for the situation that a friend of mine went through a few years ago. I have a friend in my own country, Venezuela, who worked as an illustrator for a US game company over the internet, a traditional console developer. He told me they started off paying him $600 dollars a month and ended up paying him $900. Well, not only did this amount discourage me, but there was also the fact that they would not deposit the money in a US account for him. They had to purposedly transfer it directly to a venezuelan bank account so the money would get exchanged to our local currency immediately, forcing him to receive the equivalent amount at the legal exchange rate, which is less than half of what he could exchange it for in the black market. Now don't freak out when I say BLACK MARKET. It's an everyday thing in our economy, and one without which we wouldn't be able to survive. Our country has a currency exchange control, and limits the yearly amount of dollars you can buy at the legal rate (which they do on purpose to actually hurt the economy), so we have to resort to the informal sector. The thing that angers me the most is that they admitted that they didn't want him to exchange the money on the black market specifically because they didn't want him to make twice as much money, they said it was "the way business works". Now can someone explain to me this bizarre brand of logic? How exactly does it make sense to have your employees purposedly underpayed even if it doesn't cost you anything extra? Why couldn't they deposit the money on a US account and let someone else take the money out for him? would have that been so hard? And also, why the huge difference in salary compared to what I was told by the guys from Canada and Australia? AFAIK, artists make approximately just as much as programmers, if I'm not mistaken, but that's beside the issue. I would appreciate if someone could help me with those two questions.

Quote: Original post by Journey
Now can someone explain to me this bizarre brand of logic? How exactly does it make sense to have your employees purposedly underpayed even if it doesn't cost you anything extra? Why couldn't they deposit the money on a US account and let someone else take the money out for him? would have that been so hard?

It has nothing to do with logic and everything to do with the law. As you stated there are legal restrictions on currency in your country and, while I don't have first had experience of Venezuelan law, I am willing to bet that companies would face stiff penalties if they were seen to be acting in a way that allowed employees to circumvent the law. Just because it doesn't cost them money doesn't mean their isn't a cost.

My friend was actually told that the reason why they didn't allow him to take the dollars directly was specifically because he would be making twice as much money, not because it was a legal issue. They told him that in that case they would pay him half as much specifically so he would be making the exact amount of money if he were to exchange it in the black market. In short, the idea was to make sure that he made as little money as possible, because it was a "business thing".

It's precisely that part that puzzles me.

And besides, my brother works for Agel (not a game company though), and they deposit his money in a foreign account in dollars, and he's allowed to do with those dollars as he pleases. And my brother lives and works for Agel here in Venezuela. So I don't see what the problem is.

In that case the problem would seem to be that your friend is working for a stupid company :(

If you work for someone, part of the negotiation should involve agreeing the best way to transfer money. He should have been able to give them account details and that should be fine... if they are in the US it is easier for them to pay another US account.
Maybe he shouldn't have started any discussion about currencies and black market, and simply said "I have a US bank account, here are the details".

Well I guess since the US account issue is clear, the only thing remaining is the salary. Can anybody confirm if I should expect from 2300 - 2600 a month as a flash game programmer while living in this country, considering the case of my friend working as an illustrator in contrast?