According to Game Developer magazine,
the average salary for U.S. developers in 2011 was $81,192 a year. It's probably gone up since then due to inflation. Compare that to the current average salary of a police officer which is $50,745 a year (
www.salary.com) or a teacher which can be as low as $39,850 a year depending on the state (
www.teacherportal.com). Being a game developer is apparently an even better paying job than working at the CIA which according to
www.simplyhired.com comes with an average salary of $70,000 a year.
In addition to a high salary, the majority of game developers also receive a myriad of fringe benefits including stock options, annual bonuses, project bonuses, royalties for games they have worked on, medical benefits, dental coverage, and even pension plans. Those who received financial benefits made an average of $17,689 above and beyond their salary (source). In other words, the average yearly earnings of a video game developer is about six figures.
Why are developers making so much money? Their job isn't life threatening like a police officer's is and it's not important to the future of the nation like a teacher's job is. It might be tedious or even grueling at times and require long hours and lots of commitment, but working in the video game industry is generally fun. People should be working in the gaming industry because they want to create awesome games. Not because they want to become rich. When did the gaming industry become so corporate?