RE: [Algorithms] Game Developer Salary

[Pallister, K. <kim...@in...>]

> Advice to any Brit who takes up this kind of a deal: Make sure you
> get a good salary at day #1 because you won't see a pay raise until
> you get your green card - and in some parts of the US, that's taking
> 6 years...also you are chained to that job - you really can't leave.

(Canadian guy throws his 2c, or rather 1.2c, in)

Disagree with you there. I think most *good* companies reward hard work and
delivery of good with competitive pay. It would be a bad idea for a company
with 4 programmers that are at the same level and start out at 50k to raise
the salary for 3 of them and not for the fourth guy because you have the
'green hand cuffs' on him. Pretty bad for morale around the office. And
keeping him is only part of the problem, you want to keep him productive.

By the same token, if a company's stock does real well and the employee's
options are worth a good amount of money, how many companies say 'well we
don't need to give anyone a raise for 3 years because we have that long
before their options vest and they wouldn't dare leave before that'.

Maybe I'm wrong and some game companies are a little slave-trade-esque, but
I'd find it surprising.

KP