Programmer Salaries

Submitted by Def on
Forum
Job and Work Experience

Hi guys & gals,

Not sure whether this is the best place to ask this question, but I figured what the hell... [;)]

This is more a question for studio bosses as much as anything else, but I guess if anyone else feels qualified to answer, please do.

I'm a programmer looking to possibly relocate to Australia to continue my career and I'm wondering what the salary rates are like over there? I mean I know roughly what salary I'd be asking for if I were to take a new job in the UK, but I've found it difficult in the past to really know what to ask for when applying for jobs abroad. Ask for too much and you either don't get an offer or the offer seems to be much lower than you seem it should be. Ask for too little and you get taken for a ride.

So, could people possibly give me a rough idea of what the salary scales are like over there.

Cheers

Submitted by souri on Wed, 15/10/03 - 12:39 AMPermalink

I doubt you'll get industry people posting salaries here because that's probably frowned upon, but I'll post my 2 cents worth [:)].

I'm probably the least likely person to ask about something like this, and you should pretty much disregard anything I say on this matter, but I've heard from $35-40k for an entry level programmer, and $70k for intermediate/expert..

Of course, it'll depend on a variety of things, like your skillset etc

Submitted by Damo on Wed, 15/10/03 - 1:35 AMPermalink

I'm also a programmer and have worked both in the UK and Australia. In general you can expect to earn a much higher salary in the UK than in Oz, but you also have to consider that the cost of living is generally much lower in Australia and as for standard of living you can't beat it here :)
IMO of course... so depends on what you're looking for really

Note I have never worked in the games industry, only in general programming roles, but I imagine the salary situation is the same

Submitted by Blitz on Wed, 15/10/03 - 4:18 AMPermalink

From what i've heard, programming positions in the games industry generally pay a good 10-20% less than similar jobs in "normal business" industries.
Entry level programmer in normal business industry is generally around $50k, entry level for games dev is probably closer to $40k.
I've seen senior lead programmer roles with salaries offered at approx $70k. (I think this might have been for a job at MF sydney a while back)
CYer, Blitz

Submitted by Red 5 on Wed, 15/10/03 - 7:42 PMPermalink

As Souri said the usual entry level salary is $35-$40k, the average is around $50-$60k for senior programmers and you should be able to score $80k+ for a lead role... anything less would be a waste of time imo.

Posted by Def on
Forum
Job and Work Experience

Hi guys & gals,

Not sure whether this is the best place to ask this question, but I figured what the hell... [;)]

This is more a question for studio bosses as much as anything else, but I guess if anyone else feels qualified to answer, please do.

I'm a programmer looking to possibly relocate to Australia to continue my career and I'm wondering what the salary rates are like over there? I mean I know roughly what salary I'd be asking for if I were to take a new job in the UK, but I've found it difficult in the past to really know what to ask for when applying for jobs abroad. Ask for too much and you either don't get an offer or the offer seems to be much lower than you seem it should be. Ask for too little and you get taken for a ride.

So, could people possibly give me a rough idea of what the salary scales are like over there.

Cheers

Submitted by souri on Wed, 15/10/03 - 12:39 AMPermalink

I doubt you'll get industry people posting salaries here because that's probably frowned upon, but I'll post my 2 cents worth [:)].

I'm probably the least likely person to ask about something like this, and you should pretty much disregard anything I say on this matter, but I've heard from $35-40k for an entry level programmer, and $70k for intermediate/expert..

Of course, it'll depend on a variety of things, like your skillset etc

Submitted by Damo on Wed, 15/10/03 - 1:35 AMPermalink

I'm also a programmer and have worked both in the UK and Australia. In general you can expect to earn a much higher salary in the UK than in Oz, but you also have to consider that the cost of living is generally much lower in Australia and as for standard of living you can't beat it here :)
IMO of course... so depends on what you're looking for really

Note I have never worked in the games industry, only in general programming roles, but I imagine the salary situation is the same

Submitted by Blitz on Wed, 15/10/03 - 4:18 AMPermalink

From what i've heard, programming positions in the games industry generally pay a good 10-20% less than similar jobs in "normal business" industries.
Entry level programmer in normal business industry is generally around $50k, entry level for games dev is probably closer to $40k.
I've seen senior lead programmer roles with salaries offered at approx $70k. (I think this might have been for a job at MF sydney a while back)
CYer, Blitz

Submitted by Red 5 on Wed, 15/10/03 - 7:42 PMPermalink

As Souri said the usual entry level salary is $35-$40k, the average is around $50-$60k for senior programmers and you should be able to score $80k+ for a lead role... anything less would be a waste of time imo.