Want to make games? Drop out now!
Apr. 9th, 2009 10:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexxkayGame Developer Magazine's latest issue features the results of their annual salary survey. Although there are caveats involved with any set of self-reported data, I think at least the relationships between different subsets of data are likely to be accurate. And I noticed something that surprised me in the table "Average Salary by Education and Discipline".
In all disciplines, those who completed "Some College" make significantly *more* than those who completed a Bachelor's Degree. Those who went on to "Some Graduate" made even *less* than those with Bachelor's.
Actually *completing* a Master's Degree gets you a salary roughly comparable to "Some College", though in some disciplines it's a bit less, in some a bit more. In none is it *enough* more to suggest being worth the investment.
At the Doctoral level, only Programmers reported anything. "Some Doctoral" makes more money than "Some College" -- but an actual Doctorate makes *less*.
So, if you're a college student who wants a successful career in the games industry, apparently the best thing you can do is drop out!
In all disciplines, those who completed "Some College" make significantly *more* than those who completed a Bachelor's Degree. Those who went on to "Some Graduate" made even *less* than those with Bachelor's.
Actually *completing* a Master's Degree gets you a salary roughly comparable to "Some College", though in some disciplines it's a bit less, in some a bit more. In none is it *enough* more to suggest being worth the investment.
At the Doctoral level, only Programmers reported anything. "Some Doctoral" makes more money than "Some College" -- but an actual Doctorate makes *less*.
So, if you're a college student who wants a successful career in the games industry, apparently the best thing you can do is drop out!
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Date: 2009-04-09 07:53 pm (UTC)That said, I should go work on my application for my master's degree... :) Neatly enough, the master's will act as "time served" towards my subsequent Ph.D, which is pretty nearly a prerequisite to where I want to be in 10 years (a professor in a high-end college of education). Also, my job (assuming I stay in this one) contractually promises to give me a significant pay bump once I have a master's. So it makes sense for me-- as *well* as being a luxury item!