10 Most Fun Jobs, Part 5

Here's part 5 of a very fun article from CareerBuilder.com on the top ten most fun jobs available:

Game: Video Game Programmer

It's fun because: As a software designer, you're surrounded by video games and earning enough money to move out of your parents' house: It's the best of both worlds. Video game programmers are essentially computer software engineers, who design, develop, test and evaluate software programs and systems.

The not-so-fun side: Employees who work at video terminals for extended periods may experience musculoskeletal strain, eye problems, stress or repetitive motion illnesses, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. For some professionals, evening or weekend work may be necessary to meet deadlines or solve problems.

The payoff: As in most industries, education and experience influence earnings. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual earnings of computer software engineers ranged from less than $50,270 for the lowest 10 percent to more than $116,340 for the highest 10 percent in May 2004.

Not bad. Not bad at all. Good pay, fun environment, and plenty of "fun", I'm sure. This one gets a thumbs up from me!

Free Money Finance recommends Emigrant Direct.

Comments

[Duane Gran]

I would have to disagree with this assessment. While it sounds fun at the onset, I've met a good number of programmers who have burnt out from the game industry's typical 80 hour work week. Game developers are without a doubt some of the most talented programmers I've had the pleasure to work with, but most of them regard their experience working for game companies as torturous.

[Blaine Moore (Run to Win)]

It only gets a thumbs up from you because you have never done it. I used to work for Electronic Arts (you'll see my name in the credits for the PC version of Madden NFL 2003). The pay was awful, the 14-20 hour days 6 days a week were awful, and having to listen to recordings of John Madden all day was awful.

Not a big fan. Granted, I was the database manager for the Q/A department and not a programmer, but the only difference between us and programmers was the pay and that we did not work as much as them.

I do have to note, however, that the insane hours (going home at 2-3am and coming back at 6-8am) was only for a few months at a time, and that there would be a month or two of downtime where you only work 40 hours a week between those stints. I do also have to note that Electronic Arts - Tiburon may not be indicative of all development studios.

[Matt Laswell]

I sling code for a living. Game programming is cool, but I would never do it. Why?

1) The pressure and hours are crazy. Others here have already commented on this and it's true. During the crunch, 80 hours is a minimum at a lot of game shops.
2) Job security is minimal. Game's a flop? It's not uncommon to see the company lay off the entire team. There are some rock stars who are the exception to this rule. But not many. Not everybody is working on a longstanding successful franchise like Madden.
3) Pay sucks. Everybody thinks it would be really cool to work on video games. Thus, many people want to get into it. This large supply of labor, when leveraged against a relatively fixed demand, equals lower pay. Again, there are rock stars who make big dollars. But they're the exception. If you work in a less glamorous (sic) job, you'll make significantly more.
4) The work isn't as cool as you think. The programmer's rarely the one who comes up with game concepts - they have other people who do that. The programmer's the one who builds internal tools that let the creative sorts express themselves. Still interesting work, but you're not designing the game as such.

I'll take my nice job in the networking industry, thank you very much...