Yup, the pay thing is a double edged sword too because most studios are usually in high CoL locations. When I left the industry it was an instant 2x income inc

Yup, the pay thing is a double edged sword too because most studios are usually in high CoL locations. When I left the industry it was an instant 2x income increase. I went from paycheck to paycheck to being able to actually afford living in the Seattle area. I remember running the numbers on the hours I was working at my salary rate and realized that I would have been better off flipping burgers instead. It wasn't the breaking point but it definitely was a contributing factor.