I have thought of no general place to ask this, so I am sorr if you think it is in the worng place: Who has the highest paying job in the game development industry? ex: programmer, writer, sound engineer Who makes the most money on average(saying this because I dont want an andwer like: You cant compare because it goes by talent ) and why? Just wondering, because, I think now is the time I should decide what I want to focus on most, before I start making bad decisions. Thank you. "I''''ve sparred with creatures from the nine hells themselves... I barely plan on breaking a sweat here, today."~Drizzt Do''''Urden

The highest paying job in game development is CEO of a publishing company. Duh. ;-)

I want to be invloved in making the game. I reall would only want to be a writer or programmer. Everything else is boring. I would be best in music but I dont like it at all. So I was really wondering, I want to make a LIVING with one of these jobs. Not live with my parents at age 40, have a 200 mhz computer, and send out games that never get published. lol. And I dont know which on to go for. I guess I will just do both.

If you are hired by a game company in any capacity, they will pay you a living wage. It isn''t in their best interest to have you unable to work on account of starvation.

My point above is that if you primarily care about money, game programming is not the right career choice for you. You''d be better off being a salesman. Just pick your favorite profession and try to get as much money for that as you can.

If you were picking professions based on money, you''d be nowhere near game development.

Oh please. If you want to start a fight, post somewhere else. I clearly stated I want to amek games, but I dont want to be making 10 thousand a year. I want to be able to take care of my needs, wants, and if I ever have a family, I want to be able to take care of them too. Money is not important to me, the things I need money to get are important to me. I dont want to get into game programming, and as soon as I get out of college realize I am homeless.

"I''''ve sparred with creatures from the nine hells themselves... I barely plan on breaking a sweat here, today."~Drizzt Do''''Urden

I don''t think he meant anything by it Drizzt, he was just saying that if you are concerned about money then games development is probably not the right career choice for you, which is true. You can make a LOT more money as a programmer in other fields than you can in games programming. Most games programmers do it because it''s what they love even thought they have the skills that could earn them a lot more money in other else where.

I think that you are asking the wrong question however. If you want to get into the games industry it''s not so much a matter of what pays the best but rather what you are the best at and what you enjoy the most. Are you a mega hot programmer or a super creative artist/musician. Do you think in binary or in psychedelic symbols?

You need to ask yourself some questions. Have you programmed before? If so were you good at it, did you enjoy it, do you think you could do it for the next 40 so years of your life? Same with music, writing, etc. Give them all a try an see what suits you.

One thing I will say is that you absolutely must chose something you love doing otherwise you''ll find it so much harder to succeed and when you do would it have been worth it when you could have been doing something you love?

- Kaijin

"If you find a job that you love you''ll never have to work again."

The thing is, I can write very well, and I love it. I can program C++ and ome OpenGL(im still learning OpenGL) and I love it also. But I also love succeding rather than failing. I may succeed by doing something I love, but whats the point if I can afford a computer or apartment to put it in? I see alot of discouraging posts, and though there ALOT more encouraging ones, the dicouraging ones get to me alot more. Before I deicde: All right, I am doing programming (and I did say that to myself about a week and a hlaf ago, though I have been learning for longer, I was seeing if I was good at it, and if it was fun, how can you have fun, if you dont have a paying job ) I want to know if I will be able to take care of myself with it. If I only wanted a job I just wanted to do because of the money, I wouldnt do programming, because I know you wont be a billionare I am asking if I will be able to support myself with a job I love. Thats would make me happy. Anyway it doesnt matter anymore. I did research and I found my answer.

"I''''ve sparred with creatures from the nine hells themselves... I barely plan on breaking a sweat here, today."~Drizzt Do''''Urden

You should be able to support yourself but it depends on the lifestyle you intend on living and how good you are. You can still have fun without having money. The best thing''s in life are free if you know what I mean Money has a recurring tendency to ruin what ever it gets involved in, just look at the current sate of the game industry

Sometimes people put so much time and effort in trying to get what they don''t have that they don''t take time to appreciate what they''ve already got. Which is a tragedy because most of when they realise it''s too late.

Sorry, just me going off at a tangent.

Anyway, good luck with what ever you choose to do. I myself am a programmer/artist/writer/psychologist/dreamer/gamer/philosopher

- Kaijin

"If you find a job that you love you''ll never have to work again."

Beware foul Drow,
It will seem like you are sparring with creatures from the nine Hells when you talk to game company execs.There are a lot of people trying to get into very few spots in the game companies.
Programming seems to be the easiest way in the door (design is nearly impossible -as noone gives a rats ass for your ability ,only your "documents" or previous experience for an "entry level" position-ha) That is why there are so many people trying to get together in the help wanted forum.Noone hardly ever does anything and partnerships evaporate all the time so here we all are loving games and wanting to make the great idea we have into a game but I have seen very few success stories on these forums.I would advise someone who wants to make games to learn how to program (which is what I am now doing)then you can get a job in some company and possibly get the chance to pursue some of your ideas there as well.If al else fails you can always make games on your own or try to find a team or just plain get a programming job in some other field for a while to gather resources for a future go at it.

Good luck Drizzt until we meet again. .......Artemis Entreri

It''s my mission in life to dissuade folks from jumping in to the game industry. But since most folks are hard-headed here''s some practical advice from people (self included) who have been there:

The pay sucks vs. comparable industries.

But, if you have the choice between being a writer and a coder, go with coding. When and if you get sick of the industry, you can at least move into a more lucrative and likely stable job.

Its been my observation that the more right brained your job, the less you get payed. (Feel free to contradict me, folks). Therefore, the totem usually works like this:

Division Head / VP of Dev or Publishing (if company''s like EA) (???k)

Senior Producer (??k)

Misc. Marketing Folks / Producers (aka Product Managers) / Senior Programmer (50-65k???)

Programmers / Assistant Product Managers / Senior Artists (30-50k?)

Artists / Junior Porgrammer / Game Designer (25-35k?)

Junior Artists (food stamps and coupons, practically!)

The pay estimates vary widely, though, and this was in California at four publishers I knew of, and one small developer. Of course, YMMV

Not sure if its still the case, but the writer and designer''s jobs seem to be the least stable. I also think that the pay for artists and designers might be low because lots of people want to do that type of work, and skill may not be as valued.

It was also my expience that golden boys got payed more than rank and file, so you could get better pay than average for being awesome.

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Just waiting for the mothership...