Hello everyone
Lately I am trying to find my path, with that has come less video games and more studying the internals of growth, and sometimes happiness is an asset far greater than any ROI. Human kindness is the greatest dividend. But I did get to thinking the many avenues of our hobby that happen behind the scenes before we see that opening screen of our contra ridden dreams.
Which career path involving gaming would you most want to have if you had to pick one?
Voice Actor
First up you have the DNA of our childhood sounds, from that "wahaaa" of Mario diving through a painting in Mario 64, opening new worlds, to the gruffyness of Trevor from GTA as he stomps someone into the dirt. You are the voice, bringing to life an idea. Since video games are almost always CGI, voice is what seperates a lifeless animation and a tangible personality. Some of the most loved voice actors make millions over their career. Voice Actors often clock in on their own accord, and usually smell like lost boys vhs tapes and leather. Like Brute colougne. Most have actual followings outside of gaming unlike other professions that often times go unoticed.
Coders and Number Geeks
The numbers guys, the brave and noble soldiers on the front lines of binary D day who bring a designers ideas from a pad to a screen using 1s and 0s The job is essentially the most important of making a video game but also perhaps the most tedious. Staring at walls of code that with no context looks like a bad acid trip with Neo from the matrix, like Doctor Strange grabbed your proverbial neck and said "see the future, make it be". Significently less cool than a voice actor, more stressful work conditions but the life line of gaming. Do you wanna be the architect or the pretty emote he wears?
Gamestop "I put that game you wanted aside" manager. Aka emperor Geek
The staple of our community. We all know one, we all want to be one. The guy has the NES controller wallet on stand by for flexing on inferior geek plebs of varying quality at the many comic cons he attends. And when you are searching he parts the power up rewards sea like a master chief version of prophecy and gets you the best deals. Usually surrounded by other gamers who cling to his every word. And many girls who cosplay as Coco Bandicoot split pizzas with him. When not showing off his ganondorf tattoo he is showing you the best deals. He is the Don Corleone of your city's local gaming scene and many know him on first name basis. The draw back of this job is he doesn't make as much as the other two and probably doesn't have medical benefits. But he is cool. And you get to meet many other gamers here.
A professional gamer or streamer "The PewDiePie"
The guy every middle aged dad in 2009 mocked, "that isn't a real job". We all agreed until they made 50 million in net worth doing what we did for free in the late 80s. Love them or hate them the streamers and gamers are here to say. Are you a Mattpat? An AVGN. One of the new legends of the hit maker, influencer frontier? The selling point? Typically being either wildly racist and obnoxious. Or being dumbly attractive and selling that factor to hormonal teens finding themselves via their favorite streamer. A profession that varies as some can do it morally and with actual love for games but i'd say the most profitable ones are selling an only fans experience and calling it gaming to have the best of both worlds. They know what their fans come to see and they intend to give it to them for "donations that support the channel". But if you could would you? You get to sit there and play games and get paid to do it? Do you got what it takes
animation, graphic design and level design
The animators make the pretty worlds you explore from the colors of stardew valley to the darks of Bendy and the Ink Machine. The Stan Lees of gaming, the walt disney of block bashing bliss. You sit on your tablet, designing complex movements, animations for the coders to code. You give the recipe to the chefs essentially. Animators are the artists so if you are the drawer of your family, the sketcher, the one who loves cgi and graphic design was your major. You will shine here. Do you want to throw down in color town?
The investor CEO "Jim Walsh the loan shark"
When not cashing checks you are exclusively snapping necks. Don't pretend you're ok with the poland spring. We know you were drinking Evian before you got here. The type of high roller, shot caller, phone call maker, that the cusp of your jeans smells like office chair lamb skin interior. Your cuticles only touch imported kashmir. You smell like central air conditioning and stinky green cash. With that comes power. If you want Arthur Morgan to be a western DJ and play pony by Genuwine. It will happen. But when 200,000 games refuse to buy it because the decision you chose or route you took. It's you carrying all the risk. Investors put their money into high stake projects, they usually give their workers creative freedom but if it all fails you take the heat of it all. You pay the price. You reap the rewards. A job mostly of hiring and firing. And being a boss of it all. Do you wanna be the Dan Houser?
The Tester
Sounds like peaches and cream but you are never testing complete or perfect games right away. Maybe towards the end when it comes together you get it in a playable state. But testers have to sift through games looking for bugs, looking for the juttery rock. Looking to be disappointed. They lose the love of actually gaming becasue gaming becomes work. I have heard many testers online who have dreamed of being a video game tester since a little kid like we all do but once they get in the chair and actually get to do it. It becomes work. You can't just try to beat a game, you gotta look at it the way a food critic looks at a whopper. You can't enjoy it's kingliness because it's so hard to not compare it to the ribeye you had 2 days ago. Do you wanna be the fixer? The one to make sure everyone elses work is smooth as butter? Or would you rather game with the intent to have fun?
In terms of salary
Profession YouTube gamers - 20k to 2 million dollars per month
Voice Actors - 200k to 500k per project
Coders - 50k to 200k per year
Testers - 35k to 50k per year
Gamestop Employee - 22k to 35k per year no benefits
CEO - Depends on video game success and profit margins. 250k to 100,000,000
Which job would you most want to have?
Thanks for sharing
