Starting pay for entry level jobs in the industry?

ebagg · Jul 2006

Out of curiousity I know this varies quite a bit depending on the studio and region, so this is a bit of a broad question. Rough ballpark, how much do entry-level artists in the game biz make annually (in your experience)?

Generally I'd like to know because while I'm nowhere near a heavy spender, it would be nice to get the bills paid, living on my own in an apartment.

michalczyk · Jul 2006

I think game developer has/used to have annual salary reviews for the industry. I think the lowest for artists was about $35K.

MoP · Jul 2006

that sounds about right... for a good company in a decent area.
maybe going down to $30k in places where it's cheaper to live.
That's just my rough conversion to $ from £ anyway.

TomDunne · Jul 2006

fmnoor · Jul 2006

http://www.gdmag.com/archive/apr06.htm

Game Developer's 5th Annual Salary Survey

greenj2 · Jul 2006

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Haha, true that man. When I started work as a junior game artist I was earning slightly less than I would working full time at my old job at Kmart. Although admittedly I probably would have put a gun in my mouth after a week of full time at Kmart, after being there casual for 3 years.

Steve Schulze · Jul 2006

AU30k is standard in this country across the baord unless you're some sort of super-elite art guy.

poopinmymouth · Jul 2006

My first job was really fair. 32k, and this was three years ago. I didn't have a degree or any experience.

aesir · Jul 2006

yea, I think its anywhere from 25k to 45k from what I've heard on forums over the years.

danr · Jul 2006

i wouldn't want to start on less than 18k in the UK, which is roughly $35k. That's a little better than '99, when a starting wage was 10-14k.

SHEPEIRO · Jul 2006

is that 18k for a graduate or non....

ive just been asked in the past.

Vitor · Jul 2006

ouch i never thought it was that much

at least here in portugal that would be really great big money. For example i'm taking a 6 years plus 2 years of starting course and won't make half that on the begining lol

SHEPEIRO · Jul 2006

£9k :z youd have trouble living off that here, amd thats in the north, so south eekk.

Showster · Jul 2006

I started on 18k (Graduate) Brighton

SuperOstrich · Jul 2006

My starting pay as a Jr. Artist was 14K a year. Of course this was back in 1993 and I was 18.

The average is pretty well represented in the Game Developer salary survey that fmnoor posted.

Jeff Parrott · Jul 2006

LA area I've heard 45k to 55k just depends on the company.

animatr · Jul 2006

hey ebagg:
I'm in the seattle area (kirkland) and I just graduated college in April. The pay in this area tends to be higher due to the costs of living. You're bound to come up with a least 35 but probably no more than 50k here.
Hope that helps.

Ferg · Jul 2006

my entry level salary was under 20k/year as a contractor(in bellevue/seattle area), but it only took me 3 months to get hired on full time with a more "average" salary. My advice... live like a college student (assuming you dont have a family to support or anything) and dont worry about pay for your first job, the experience is worth exponentially more than the dollar value of your first gig.

Matabus · Jul 2006

[ QUOTE ]
hey ebagg:
I'm in the seattle area (kirkland) and I just graduated college in April. The pay in this area tends to be higher due to the costs of living. You're bound to come up with a least 35 but probably no more than 50k here.
Hope that helps.

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50k would be EXTREMELY rare for a starting salary no matter how talented you are or how expensive the area is. 35k is a very reasonable number nationwide (US, don't know much about the wages abroad). Don't worry though, the opportunity for your salary to grow comes when you are ready for it to.

Steve Schulze · Jul 2006

Hm... 30k US sounds like way more than we start off on. Lets see.

AU30k=$22452 US Dollars.
Lucky yanks.

motives · Jul 2006

35k sounds about right (actually kinda spot on

)

sonic · Jul 2006

can someone tell me what you typically get after a couple years experience? what about sr artists? my first graphic design job (that I still have) I got when I was 17 and started at 32k a year. i've always looked at a career in this stuff, but i don't know too much about the salary.

snemmy · Jul 2006

~30k sounds amazing compared to the 9-10k from walmart

gavku · Jul 2006

I think its pretty up and down here, from 25k - high 30's...
25k is the, " you should be grateful to get an opportunity in the industry, without prior experience "..spiel.

Starting pay for entry level jobs in the industry?

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