4 ms·

Around your age I got fed up with webdev and moved into game dev. Took a massive paycut to do so, and worked my ass off like never before. But it probably set

Around your age I got fed up with webdev and moved into game dev. Took a massive paycut to do so, and worked my ass off like never before. But it probably set back my career because I ended up having to go back into web dev anyway after a few years after the company cratered. I've now been out of the game dev industry for many years, but last year I took a brief contract doing that work. At $40/hour - which maybe is adequate for the 3rd world but not for the US. I could make nearly that much driving a truck. So I don't recommend game dev. Unless you are a rock star, expect to be working a lot for peanuts. I believe even the actual gamedev rock stars could be making 2-4X by leaving the industry.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
> At $40/hour - which maybe is adequate for the 3rd world but not for the US. In a full time job that's $80k/yr. Median household income in the US is only about $60k/yr.
- aynyc 5y ago
  $40/hr contract rate means you have to pay your own taxes, healthcare, etc. In reality, that's about $45-$50K/yr job depending on your location.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
    For a single person that's still hardly third world wages. Besides which, third world compensation probably doesn't include health care costs, and median household income is calculated pre-tax anyway.
    - aynyc 5y ago
      Why would you compare to the third world? The post was stating US median salary of $50K. I’m comparing that to contract rate.
      - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
        > At $40/hour - which maybe is adequate for the 3rd world but not for the US. Because the original post compared $40/hr to 3rd world wages. Which is ludicrously out of touch.
        trashface 5y ago
        It wasn't full time (which I guess I failed to mention). They could only offer 20 hours a week. Also the hourly rate was lower, I don't want to say how much to avoid doxing myself since some people from that company hang on hacker news. You're talking about median income but not expenses. Have you considered rent/housing costs? Health care? Car repair? Basic utility costs? Saving for retirement? Paying off debt? Especially in the light of recent inflation? As one example, my car is 24 years old, its falling apart, but with used car prices right now its pretty daunting to consider replacing it. And my taxes are quite high - mostly SALT stuff, which is pretty regressive. For federal, around that income level you have to be careful not to exceed 400% FPL since you may lose the ACA subsidy and thus owe thousands more. ACA plans are _not_ cheap. Sure I could move to a VLCOL area. If I can rent or find house, in good shape, in a non-blighted area. Not sure if you've ever driven across the middle USA, but it isn't generally the most pleasant place. And if I want to buy I have to get a mortgage, which isn't easy in the US if you are self employed and _especially_ if you have low income. Probably impossible right now actually. Have you ever tried living on even 20 hours a week at $40 per hour, in the US? If not, I encourage you to try, especially now. The US is just not a friendly place for people working hourly on low wage, most people doing this are just struggling, which is why I think my 3rd world comparison is still valid.
        AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
        > You're talking about median income but not expenses. Have you considered rent/housing costs? Health care? Car repair? Basic utility costs? Saving for retirement? You think the people living on the median household income in the US don't have to worry about these things for some reason?
      - 5y ago

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago

> At $40/hour - which maybe is adequate for the 3rd world but not for the US. In a full time job that's $80k/yr. Median household income in the US is only about $60k/yr.

aynyc 5y ago
$40/hr contract rate means you have to pay your own taxes, healthcare, etc. In reality, that's about $45-$50K/yr job depending on your location.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  For a single person that's still hardly third world wages. Besides which, third world compensation probably doesn't include health care costs, and median household income is calculated pre-tax anyway.
  - aynyc 5y ago
    Why would you compare to the third world? The post was stating US median salary of $50K. I’m comparing that to contract rate.
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
      > At $40/hour - which maybe is adequate for the 3rd world but not for the US. Because the original post compared $40/hr to 3rd world wages. Which is ludicrously out of touch.
      - trashface 5y ago
        It wasn't full time (which I guess I failed to mention). They could only offer 20 hours a week. Also the hourly rate was lower, I don't want to say how much to avoid doxing myself since some people from that company hang on hacker news. You're talking about median income but not expenses. Have you considered rent/housing costs? Health care? Car repair? Basic utility costs? Saving for retirement? Paying off debt? Especially in the light of recent inflation? As one example, my car is 24 years old, its falling apart, but with used car prices right now its pretty daunting to consider replacing it. And my taxes are quite high - mostly SALT stuff, which is pretty regressive. For federal, around that income level you have to be careful not to exceed 400% FPL since you may lose the ACA subsidy and thus owe thousands more. ACA plans are _not_ cheap. Sure I could move to a VLCOL area. If I can rent or find house, in good shape, in a non-blighted area. Not sure if you've ever driven across the middle USA, but it isn't generally the most pleasant place. And if I want to buy I have to get a mortgage, which isn't easy in the US if you are self employed and _especially_ if you have low income. Probably impossible right now actually. Have you ever tried living on even 20 hours a week at $40 per hour, in the US? If not, I encourage you to try, especially now. The US is just not a friendly place for people working hourly on low wage, most people doing this are just struggling, which is why I think my 3rd world comparison is still valid.
        AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
        > You're talking about median income but not expenses. Have you considered rent/housing costs? Health care? Car repair? Basic utility costs? Saving for retirement? You think the people living on the median household income in the US don't have to worry about these things for some reason?
    - 5y ago