   is the job as bad as people say?
  I've heard a bunch of people tell me you work extremely long hours without breaks. You don't get paid overtime, letalone time for yourself, and the job is just very stressful.Is this true?   
Quote:Original post by GraySnakeGenocideI've heard a bunch of people tell me you work extremely long hours without breaks. You don't get paid overtime, letalone time for yourself, and the job is just very stressful.Is this true?Who cares, if it's what you really want to do then those long hours could not have been spent better and what job is not stressful?!   ;  As with every other job on the planet, it depends who you work for. It's probably more true of games than other jobs, but it all varies. And it's actually fairly rare to find a game developer who isn't generally happy with things. Stressed out and annoyed at management maybe, but not actually discontent with the industry as a whole, at least.   ;  And apparently it's very bad when you've got a deadline. But eh   ;  Yes, all of those can apply depending on where you are working.  But the same can apply to just about any job.theTroll   ;  A lot of jobs in programming and IT are like that.It's a simple matter of supply and demand. Currently, the supply hasn't been exhausted yet, not even by far.My recommendation would be to look into software engineering, or other, non-programming positions, once you qualify for them. Simple reality is, "programming" mostly equals code monkey, and those are dime-a-dozen.Other jobs however are much more normal. And companies that require highly qualified/competent people will offer them reasonable working conditions.   ;  Some things depend on the company, but most companies will not have you working "long" hours unless it is crunch-time and you're behind. Even so, after the game is released you usually get a complimentary break from the job (1-2 weeks sometimes). Any job that offers a salary will not pay for overtime, that's nothing new. It's not really stressful; furthermore, if it's what you really want to do, then you look forward to doing it.At any rate, if you are higher up on the "chain", then you get some special perks as well. Either way, it's not a bad job especially if you like what you're doing.   ;  Surely that depends on a LOT of things. Just like with most, if not all, other jobs out there, you're bound to get a whole range of different experiences.I've taught for 14 years and have had a lot of ups and downs in that profession. However, I now wish to go into the Software Industry, simply because I just find designing and developing software FAR more interesting and worthwhile to me, and in any case, I could do with a MUCH needed change from teaching which believe me, is an extremely (especially here in the UK) stressful profession in general.But I am under no illusions that the software industry doesn't have its fair share of problems, but that won't stop me trying to get in.Unfortunately most jobs these days could be described as "bad", in some way or another, but that shouldn't really be a factor if said job also provides new worthwhile challenges, hopefully a better career direction and perhaps most important, passion!And right now I'd be happy to be a code monkey getting paid virtually nothing if it would solidify me a lucrative position within the industry. Heck I've had to put up with some irate and offensive students over the years. Writing thousands of lines of code for peanuts (which I'm doing anyway as a hobby) seems like heaven to me right now!   ;  I'd like to get where David Jaffe/Hideo Kojima are.God knows that won't happen anytime soon >_>.I'm slowly learning C++/Blender 3D.Myself and a friend want to work on a gaming project, and he wants me to learn C#, because once I learn that than the other languages become easier or something.   ;  [sarcasm]Yup. I tend to spend 6 full days at work and eat and sleep on the 7th.[/sarcasm]No, it isn't really that bad.  Like any job, you are payed to get the job done. I put in a lot of extra time, but I know a lot of people who are CPAs who put in twice as much crunch time as me come tax season.  Every job has its downsides.  The question is how cost effective is it for you? Weigh the time-to-enjoyment in your life. If you don't find the balance you want, weigh your options and move on.   