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Your observations re: gamedev are correct. Actually, I can't really stand working for other people, so I'm doing a startup. Now I work almost all the time I'm

Your observations re: gamedev are correct. Actually, I can't really stand working for other people, so I'm doing a startup. Now I work almost all the time I'm awake, and I make 0 dollars. Hmm. So, what city do you live in? Does your employer have <10, <100, <1000, <10k, or 10k+ employees? Or, are you a contractor? EDIT> I should point out that the highest-paying jobs I've seen advertised for non-management devs in Toronto are around 100k. Architects are like 120k. Then again, a detached house in town, near a subway stop is under 400k.

kenjackson 16y ago
I live and work out of two houses and offices. One in Seattle and one in SF. Less than 100 people. I used to be a consultant... if you've never done it I recommend all devs to spend some time doing it. The listed salaries in ads are just for where to start negotiations at :-) In any case, if your start up does well, but not so well that you can retire like Brin & Page (exit w/ say $3-5M) you'll find that higher paying offers tend to come a fair bit easier. I couldn't tell from your page (or I just missed it), what does your start up do?
- JabavuAdams 16y ago
  > I couldn't tell from your page (or I just missed it), what does your start up do? I'm developing an online, subscription-based game for PC and Mac. > I used to be a consultant... if you've never done it I recommend all devs to spend some time doing it. The problem I see with consulting is that to be really good, you need to care more about the client's project than your own stuff (or at least act that way). This is a problem for me, since (non-retirement) money is not a significant motivator. This is also true of customers, of course, but there's a bit more leeway and leverage there. > The listed salaries in ads are just for where to start negotiations at :-) Very true. > In any case, if your start up does well, but not so well that you can retire like Brin & Page (exit w/ say $3-5M) you'll find that higher paying offers tend to come a fair bit easier. Interesting. When I reach that range, I won't be accepting offers -- I'll semi-retire. I'd probably work at building a personal submarine like Nautilus UC3 ($200k), doing AI research, building robots and making art. You mention SF and Seattle. For comparison, in Toronto, you can get a beautiful house in an elite uptown neighbourhood on the subway line, starting at around $650k. If you move to the 'burbs, the size/price ratio just improves (but why would you want to live in the 'burbs :)

kenjackson 16y ago

I live and work out of two houses and offices. One in Seattle and one in SF. Less than 100 people. I used to be a consultant... if you've never done it I recommend all devs to spend some time doing it. The listed salaries in ads are just for where to start negotiations at :-) In any case, if your start up does well, but not so well that you can retire like Brin & Page (exit w/ say $3-5M) you'll find that higher paying offers tend to come a fair bit easier. I couldn't tell from your page (or I just missed it), what does your start up do?

JabavuAdams 16y ago
> I couldn't tell from your page (or I just missed it), what does your start up do? I'm developing an online, subscription-based game for PC and Mac. > I used to be a consultant... if you've never done it I recommend all devs to spend some time doing it. The problem I see with consulting is that to be really good, you need to care more about the client's project than your own stuff (or at least act that way). This is a problem for me, since (non-retirement) money is not a significant motivator. This is also true of customers, of course, but there's a bit more leeway and leverage there. > The listed salaries in ads are just for where to start negotiations at :-) Very true. > In any case, if your start up does well, but not so well that you can retire like Brin & Page (exit w/ say $3-5M) you'll find that higher paying offers tend to come a fair bit easier. Interesting. When I reach that range, I won't be accepting offers -- I'll semi-retire. I'd probably work at building a personal submarine like Nautilus UC3 ($200k), doing AI research, building robots and making art. You mention SF and Seattle. For comparison, in Toronto, you can get a beautiful house in an elite uptown neighbourhood on the subway line, starting at around $650k. If you move to the 'burbs, the size/price ratio just improves (but why would you want to live in the 'burbs :)