oh are we having the games industry salary discussion again?

i had a recruiter at a non-gaming company laugh when i quoted my desired salary, and say "oh i'm so sorry, if that's what [COMPANY] is paying you, you're worth way more" and then exceed my quote by like 35%

it wasn't this instance, but when i went from Riot to Yahoo, my pay increased by 80%

those of us who have been in gaming/esports their entire careers don't actually know what a good salary is like.

after Yahoo, i just assumed i'd never make more than $70k/yr again, because that's just this industry. i make more than that now, and i feel like i don't deserve it.

and that's intentional! companies want you to feel like you're lucky to work in the games industry. you're "supposed" to feel bad for wanting more money.

that's how i ended up living in Los Angeles, one of the most expensive cities in the world, on $42k/yr.

every single time - EVERY single time - someone has asked me for a desired salary, i have undervalued myself.

twice, the company has said "lol no" and offered me more. this industry broke my brain so badly that *MAJOR CORPORATIONS* have offered me more money than i asked for.

well, this thread kinda went off.

uh, don't work for free for companies that are making money, unions are good, health care should be free, etc.