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salary expectation at job interviews
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I had a Games Programmer interview at a UK developers yesterday (one of the bigger ones), and was asked what sort of salary I was expecting. As I have just graduated and this would be my first programming job I wasn't sure what was normal, so I wasn't sure what to ask for. Can anybody give me a rough idea incase this crops up again in the future?
You are probably looking at a range of around £20k-£24k for a starting graduate position. Depends on how good you are and your ability to negociate. It also depends on the company.
Often companies have a fixed salary for graduates though.
Often companies have a fixed salary for graduates though.
I would have expected an entry level position to be less than £20-£24K to be honest, except perhaps near London.
icethelog, check job sites and look at what sort of rates are going for programming jobs, and remember that game companies tend to pay slightly less. Don't be afraid to 'expect' a little too much though. If you're good enough, they'd rather risk insulting you with an offer that is too low than not make you an offer at all.
icethelog, check job sites and look at what sort of rates are going for programming jobs, and remember that game companies tend to pay slightly less. Don't be afraid to 'expect' a little too much though. If you're good enough, they'd rather risk insulting you with an offer that is too low than not make you an offer at all.
I just done a quick check on "IT Jobs Watch" and here's some of the figures I found:
Average salaries
Games Developer £37,500
Junior C++ Programmer £27,000
Hope this helps
Average salaries
Games Developer £37,500
Junior C++ Programmer £27,000
Hope this helps
I started in the £20k-£24k band as a graduate programmer, fair enough it was in the Guildford area, but I also had an offer for £24k from a cambridge studio as well. From my experience its pretty likely you'll be offered in that band (unless you're anything other than a programmer).
£24,000 was my starting salary most people who i was at uni with started around the same.
I did get offered a lot more for non games positions though. Up to £30,000 for a couple of junior non games iPhone jobs.
I did get offered a lot more for non games positions though. Up to £30,000 for a couple of junior non games iPhone jobs.
That's interesting, because that's not the experience I've seen in the East Midlands, for games or otherwise. It would be great to get some data on this from around the UK because the typical surveys cover American salaries which aren't really comparable.
At my first game development (programming) job in Edinburgh (For a smallish company), I started on £12,000. Although I said I'd accept anything over £10k, since I needed the experience more than anything else at the time.
ah, looks like there might be quite a difference up and down the country then. develop online did a survey recently on UK games salaries. From my experience they are pretty close:
http://www.develop-online.net/features/429/The-2009-UK-Games-Development-Salary-Survey
http://www.develop-online.net/features/429/The-2009-UK-Games-Development-Salary-Survey
A good answer is something along the lines of "I am open to any competitive offers". This will usually throw the ball back into the employers court and get you away from saying hard numbers unless they press the issue more. As have been mentioned previously, if it gets that far than do some research before hand and be prepared.
Talking specific salary ranges can be good or bad. Good because you know what you want and you can say how much you think you are worth. Bad because it can either knock you out right away because you are asking for too much or even worse you can undervalue you're worth and the employer isn't going to argue because they could have offered more.
Talking specific salary ranges can be good or bad. Good because you know what you want and you can say how much you think you are worth. Bad because it can either knock you out right away because you are asking for too much or even worse you can undervalue you're worth and the employer isn't going to argue because they could have offered more.
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