What's an average per hour rate for a contractor in the U.S?

MeshMagnet

I know it's a bit taboo to talk about money, but for some of us starting out, it helps out a lot. What would be the average hourly rate for a contractor at say a big corporate studio like EA or Blizzard? (In the United States)

Junior Environment Artist?

Mid Level Environment Artist?

Senior Level Environment Artist?

Just an average ballpark figure would be nice.

Joost

This might help http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Game_Industry#Salary_Research

Or this http://www.gamasutra.com/salarysurvey2014.pdf

MeshMagnet

Thanks for the info.

I didn't find anything about hourly rates though. (the .pdf didn't load for me) I know some companies in the U.S. hire on an hourly basis. I've heard that you have to pay more in taxes if you're being paid hourly; is that true?
Would it be wise to ask for more if you're on a hourly contact?

iconoplast

Taxes are based entirely on what you made in a given year. You only have to pay more if being paid hourly causes you to make more money.

Glassdoor is a pretty good site to see salary info for various companies, and it has separate breakdowns for hourly and salaried employees. The drawback is that it's hard to search because there's no inherent overlap in job titles. (For example, Associate 3d Artist is different from Associate Artist or Associate Generalist (Art) or Junior Artist etc.) You have to be prepared to either browse by company or accept that you're going to miss an inestimable amount of data.

EDIT: The assumed difference in hourly pay and taxes may be because of overtime. In general, most places pay overtime to hourly employees and not salaried employees, but this varies by company and state. Ultimately, though, that's still an issue of more money = more taxes when you get down to the core of it.

Rurouni Strife

I worked 2 contract gigs at a junior level. First one was for Sony Bend-$15 an hour. Considering the location that wasn't too bad. Not great, but livable and able to have some fun. 2010-2011

Second Job-WB Games Turbine in Boston. Same rate-looking back I should have said no but I was younger and unemployed so naturally I took a sure thing (and did a terrible job of negotiating). Boston is way more expensive than Bend so I lived VERY cheaply and took some freelance to get back to zero, as you can say. 2012-2013

Not sure if those rates have risen or not. Point is, use cost of living calculators to try and figure out what you can afford and if the rate is too low-even for a first gig-keep looking.

Eric Chadwick

This might also help you.
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Freelance#Freelance_Rates

Don't just take those numbers at face value though. Read the threads.

sprunghunt

as much as you can convince someone to pay you!