I've always heard junior level positions pay around $45k a year. Of course it varies a lot with cost of living. If people want to provide their starting salary, and they year they started, I'd love to compile some information. Please post some information here, but you can PM me, or if complete anonymity is needed, email me. me[at]zacdonald.com
is it uncommon to start around 50k? Yes, yes it is. Most AAA studios will start Juniors between 35 - 45. 50 is pretty rare right out of the gate. And thats AAA. smaller studios will pay even less sometimes.
It varies a whole lot depending of your location.
In quebec city for exemple you can start pretty low.
When I started I was in an independant studio (tho quite big) and I was only making 30k
It's all dependent on location and experience level. I was making an okay salary at Microsoft in 2011, but when I moved to Texas I had to take a nearly 40% pay cut, simply because the cost of living is cheaper there (tip: It's really not much cheaper there).
Hmm, compared to DC & Boston I took a slight pay cut to move to Austin but due to the lower cost of living I moved up a rung on the socioeconomic ladder.
According to the salary study, California pay is about 13% higher than North Carolina despite cost of living being 70% higher.
Those numbers are a bit fuzzy since they are averages of self reported salaries.
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According to that survey, conducted by Gamasutra, the average salary for an artist with less than 3 years of experience is $46,221.
Keep in mind that they are surveying people from wildly different areas of the country. $46k in San Francisco CA, is roughly the same as $27k in Cary NC, for example.
In quebec city for exemple you can start pretty low.
When I started I was in an independant studio (tho quite big) and I was only making 30k
Sometimes a step backwards is the way forward...
According to the salary study, California pay is about 13% higher than North Carolina despite cost of living being 70% higher.
Those numbers are a bit fuzzy since they are averages of self reported salaries.