Does your 20-something-year-old spend too much time playing video games every day? What if we told you there may be a lucrative career for the kid in the game development world? With the right skills, your adult child could be an animator, programmer, technical writer, marketing manager, creative director and more.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the 2021 Median Pay for Software Developers, for example, was $120,730 per year. That’s about $52.41 per hour enjoying an industry that employed about 1,622,200 people in 2021. About 411,400 jobs are predicted to enter the market by 2031, that’s a 25% increase in jobs.
How to Get That Gamer Off Your Couch
But these professionals typically have bachelor’s degrees in a field like Computer and Information Technology. Or maybe they’re entrepreneurs who found their niches, zeroed in on the right target audience and took their genres by storm!
How long do you plan to support your kid through college while your den continues hosting game day parties with older teens and young adults, who don’t belong to you, invading your space? If you get that kid some skills, your son or daughter could be off to work and out of your house in no time…
And help you pay for college! By just supporting themselves, high school seniors and college students ease a lot of burden off their parents. Help your kid get a skill, get a job, and get a life!
Successful Game Designers Do More Than Just Design Games
To make it big in this business, you have to do more than just come up with cool, hip game ideas. Somewhere behind that general job description, you have to be something other than just a game designer at some point, such as, but not limited to:
- YouTube Gamer
- Software Developer
- Cartoon Creator
- IT Specialist
- Quality Assurance Analyst
- Marketing Manager
- Audio Engineer
- Professional Game Tester
- Music Producer
- Software Tester
- Set Designer
- Video Editor
10 Careers in the Video Game Development Niche
With a constructive action plan, your grown kid can earn money while in school as a game developer. And in time, these 10 careers in video game development could be just one great interview away:
1. Animator
National Average Salary: $43,259 per year
Main Duties: Animators create images and other graphic elements for video games and other digital content using specialized software. For video game animators, their work takes place during the development phase. That’s when they are called on to develop eye-popping, attention-grabbing, alluring visual effects for games. These creatives also develop settings, scenes, characters and other game environment elements, while making sure all settings and background items complement the overall gameplay.
2. Audio Engineer
National Average Salary: $77,219 per year
Main Duties: Audio engineers develop and produce unique sounds for media productions, applications and video games. They take charge of recording and editing background music, sound effects, character voices and game soundtracks. To work for a major corporation, they must know how to mix and master the recordings of others and edit them to match the mood and theme of games.
3. Computer Programmer
National Average Salary: $47,767 per year
Main Duties: Computer programmers write the code behind video games and other applications. They are tasked with fixing issues that mess with the gaming experience and enhancing gameplay with software updates. To land six-figure gigs, they must pay very close attention to detail and be a master of multiple coding languages.
4. Creative Director
National Average Salary: $92,710 per year
Main Duties: Creative directors are the gurus behind the eye-popping visual aspects of games. They plan the visual development of games and other visual content. These professionals work closely with teams of animators, designers and actors during game development. At a corporate level, they also manage marketing materials, visuals, audio assets, storylines and gameplay.
5. Marketing Manager
National Average Salary: $66,521 per year
Main Duties: Marketing managers coordinate and oversee the company’s marketing activities. They are in charge of branding, as well as marketing all products and services, including video games. These professionals rely heavily on research data to create effective marketing strategies that increase brand recognition, customer engagement and overall revenue.
6. Software Tester
National Average Salary: $54,318 per year
Main Duties: Software testers are in charge of quality assurance. Video game testers play games daily, paying close attention to details like glitches and errors that could impact user experience. This testing begins during the development stage for project managers and continues through the life and expansion of the games as full-time employees. They set up mock play sessions and report any errors they find, so corrections can be made.
7. Technical Director
National Average Salary: $100,480 per year
Main Duties: Technical directors oversee and manage every aspect of the studio operations at video game development companies. As a matter of fact, they carry a pretty high rank in the studio where they coordinate game technical development and final product inspection. These individuals work on teams with developers and programmers throughout the code-writing phase for the best game performance possible.
8. Technical Support Specialist
National Average Salary: $43,802 per year
Main Duties: Technical Support Specialists troubleshoot customer issues that arise while playing games. These technicians step on the scene at the end of the game development cycle. However, they are often hired as full-time employees by gaming companies as long-term careers. To be successful, they must know both game hardware and software to provide quality video game enhancement solutions.
9. Technical Writer
National Average Salary: $58,112 per year
Main Duties: Technical writers create instruction manuals and guides for video games and other software companies. They help customers get past technical issues while installing and playing games. These professionals work directly with customers during and after game development, explaining instructions for complex gameplay to gamers.
game development with a new perspective
We all know how important representation is and the power of stereotypes can have on our community. Give your child not only a way to develop universal critical thinking skills but also an opportunity to make an impact in shaping tomorrow’s perceptions today.
Polycaik is game development software specifically designed to help people, traditionally ignored by the game industry, create their own video games.
The platform focuses on providing features that help address many of the challenges people in our community face, whether it be a lack of knowledge, support, or funding. We are dedicated to launching quality games for, by and about us.
Enroll in our course offering to learn everything there is to know about how to use the Polycaik platform. Also, receive updates on product launches, features, and game industry information, as well as opportunities for your youngster to take some of the financial burden off of you.
Get exclusive access to the Polycaik community, a network of developers, creatives, and gamers looking to build and promote digital games rich in Black content.
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