Sean K. Reynolds talks RPG salaries, puts his on record.

[Myrdin Potter]

I was wondering what where the source for studies about income increase over the course of the career, then I saw your post and realized multipliers were extremely warped by the minimum wages laws. If one starts to work before reaching full initial education level & in a place where there is next to no minimum wage, it's possible to start very low and easily mechanically reach a larger multiplier over the course of a career. With a minimum yearly unqualified wage of € 19,000 in France or € 26,400 in Luxembourg, getting x10 over the course of career means reaching far above the top 1% salary bracket (and I'd say not all people in this category started with a minimum wage job).

Interestingly, and pertaining to the topic at hand, when adjusted for inflation, SKR was better paid at Interplay than in the RPG industry, even with 20+ years of professional experience. Which isn't surprising.

That salary was my starting salary at KPMG right after graduating university. Converted from $18K at the rate that year. In Montreal, which is a major Canadian city but not Toronto which tends to have the highest salaries. In my group, I know of none that kept working that did not at least hit 10x after 20 years. Maybe an artifact of my sample set.

 

[CubicsRube]

Audit is nktorious for paying their grads low salaries as the understanding is that it leads to higher than average wages.

The big4 engines are driven on this. So it's not a fair basis for comparison for other professions.

I entered accounting in the commercial world and started with double what a grad auditor makes (and in sydney minimum wages appear to be higher than most). I've seen growth, but for me to earn 10x I'd be on executive level pay.

 

[pemerton]

Since I started full-time work I've worked as a public sector researcher and an academic. As far as figures are concerned, over about 25 years my salary has close to quintupled. In purchasing power it would be less than that due to inflation over that time.

There was a four year period in there when my income went down because I was doing casual teaching and receiving a scholarship during my PhD candidature.

Academics in Australia who get permanent positions - which I am fortunate to have - are well-paid by European standards but not as well-paid as many in North America. But much better paid than Sean K Reynolds!

 

[Gilladian]

Professionals, not all workers in general.

I am a professional librarian. I have had essentially the same job with the same employer for 27 years. I make less than 2x my starting salary. This is typical for my career path.

 

[pemerton]

I am a professional librarian. I have had essentially the same job with the same employer for 27 years. I make less than 2x my starting salary. This is typical for my career path.

Are you talking about dollar figures, or in real terms?

 

[Jared Earle]

Wouldn't you ultimately sell more e-books than printed?

Nope. It's not even close.

 

[Myrdin Potter]

Audit is nktorious for paying their grads low salaries as the understanding is that it leads to higher than average wages.

The big4 engines are driven on this. So it's not a fair basis for comparison for other professions.

I entered accounting in the commercial world and started with double what a grad auditor makes (and in sydney minimum wages appear to be higher than most). I've seen growth, but for me to earn 10x I'd be on executive level pay.

Audit, Law, Investment banks. MD (resident pay is peanuts). Engineering tends to start higher but not such a steep slope. Teachers usually start out super low for the first couple of years as well.

The last 10 years have seen a partial correction of this with starting salaries going up.

The examples for RPG pay don’t show even a tripling over 20 years. Seems like a hard industry to make a very good living in as a worker (content creator). Might be a factor of the TAM (total addressable markets) and profit margins.

 

[Jd Smith1]

The examples of people making pretty good money from writing / game design are usually the ones that own their own company and present great products or the senior management at some of the larger publishers. Not really that much different than fiction writers and actors. A few make a lot. The rest wait tables and hope for a break.

Well, the arts are notorious as tough career venues. And RPG designers fall into that category, I believe.

 

[Morrus]

The fact that RPG creators are underpaid is very well known. That also connects with the discussion on prices of RPGs, as the two things are connected.

 

[Nikosandros]

Threads like this reaffirm I should never quit my day job lol.

OTOH, it seems I would do well to quit my job as a teacher in Italy and move to the US to be a game designer...