Wage gauge: Industry salary stats from the 2014 Game Career Guide

Looking to advance your career in the video game industry? The annual Game Career Guide for 2014 is now available! In this edition, you'll find lots of great advice, tips and data aimed at preparing you for a career in game development. That includes the results of Gamasutra's most recent industry-wide salary survey, which offers useful learnings to indie and AAA developers alike. Here's a taste of what you'll learn: In 2013, salaried game developers in the U.S. made an average of $83,060 last year, down 2 percent from the year prior. Business and management salaries topped all other disciplines once again this year, averaging $101,572, followed by audio professionals ($95,682) and programmers ($93,251). Quality assurance professionals earned the lowest average salary at $54,833. Here are some of the other disciplines covered (U.S.):

In Canada, salaried game developers, including all disciplines, made an average annual salary of USD $71,445 (up 9 percent year-on-year) in 2013, whereas Europe-based game developers made USD $46,232 (flat). Would-be indie developers, take note: non-salaried solo independent game developers made an average of $11,812 (down 49 percent year-on-year) last year, while individual members of an indie team made an average of $50,833 (up 161 percent). However, do note that these averages do not take into account indies who made less than $10,000, or over $200,000. The drop in solo salaries seems troubling, while the rise in indie team salaries seems promising. But be careful in making assumptions about this data when evaluating your career options -- We’ve found that average indie salaries are prone to big fluctuations over the years. You'll find more useful data in this year's Game Career Guide. Download it today!