[meheleventyone]

> I myself was only paid £18k/pa as a junior programmer at a big studio, programming in C++ with two CS degrees

How long ago was that though? I started professionally in games in 2004 getting paid £16k/pa living in Dundee making J2ME games then moved over to another company making a UE3 title after six months going up to 19k/pa. I also had an offer for 21k/pa working for EA Chertsey but didn't fancy moving there!

I hope base salary has gone up by quite a bit in the UK since then!

[gambiting]

>>How long ago was that though?

2014. My salary has gone way up since then as I moved up the "ranks", but I know that company pays £25-28k to juniors straight out of uni nowadays.

[pydave]

I think that's very regional? Salary surveys usually list Europeans much lower after currency conversion.

A half decade before you, I also started at a big studio writing C++ (but with one degree) and was paid more twice that but in Canadian dollars (65k CAD). You're right that it pays lower than other programming jobs: Silicon Valley starting salaries were around 80k USD.