Annual Game Developer Magazine Salary Survey
The Game Developer Magazine has been doing a salary and other compensation survey for several years now. They recently released the 7th annual report. If you are thinking about working in the Video Game Industry it is well worth the cost of the digital download (or the magazine if you can find it!)
A few tidbits for audio professionals from the report…. 92% of audio professionals reported having some college-level coursework, predominantly a Bachelor’s degree or higher. I know there is an increasing trend in the U.S. for college level coursework regardless of profession but this seems indicative of the necessity to get some training/education before you start looking for a job working on game audio.
Salaries continued to increase, even for people with three years experience or less. That is great news! We’re still lacking on representation of women in game audio at just 8%. Not that the industry in general is doing much better…
All in all, salaries and bonuses were up in the game audio departments. It should be noted that the industry still continues to hire contract audio professionals more often than full-time employees although from my discussions with audio directors, more positions seem to be opening up each year.
With entry-level positions averaged at over $60k the video game industry should be a goal for many of you aspiring sound designers and composers, but only if you really want to work on video games!
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well this is definitely a nice thing to read. with so much of the audio industry being flooded, this almost seems like a niche, that is, if you can find the right place and area to be in for this field.
Being ready when you get “the call” is the best you can do to prepare. Almost everyone I know that works in the industry has had an odd way of getting into the industry… not the “normal” send in a resume and interview scenario… although, that is changing as well, as more companies are expecting some experience coming in the door now
Well, 60K for an entry level position sounds pretty high (especially on the east coast), but there are a lot of great opportunites available for talented sound designers and composers.
Thanks Scott. I agree with that. I do think though, that as a starting salary the game industry far outpaces the music and film industries as far as entry level positions. That being said, I also think a person really has to WANT to work in games, it can’t be a stepping stone to music and film…
JC
Agreed. Actually, now we’re seeing a number of film composers moving over and doing video game work. A lot of people don’t know that right now the video game industry is bigger than the movie industry and the competition, especially for a composer on a big title, is pretty fierce.
Absolutely! From your viewpoint, do you see working on indie games as a good choice for newcomers, especially composers?
Yeah, the indie scene right now is pretty big with Xbox Live and all. It’s definitely a great opportunity for anyone looking to get into the industry. A lot of companies are more apt to hire a person with some game experience (even if it’s indie experience) over no game experience and it also shows that the candidate has a passion for games which is HUGE.
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