6 Tech Careers for Gamers

Table of Contents

• 6 Tech Jobs for Gamers
• 3 Industries That Hire Gamers
• The Tech Skills Gamers Need to Know
• How to Learn Game Development at a Coding Bootcamp

When you play a video game, you’re interacting with thousands of hours of work from game designers, engineers, QA testers, and more. Whether you’re interested in the development, design or marketing side of video games, there’s a tech career perfect for your unique skill set. Learn about 6 tech jobs that are perfect for gamers (and many of these don’t require a college degree!), industries and companies that love hiring gamers, and which programming languages to focus on if you want to work in game development. Plus, find out how to learn game development at 6 coding bootcamps. 

6 Tech Jobs for Gamers

If you’re looking for careers for gamers, you’ll find there are many ways to apply what you love to build a successful career in tech. Jobs for gamers vary from design to development to testing with average salaries around $60K — plus, having coding experience definitely increases your income! Browse these careers for gamers and see what resonates with you. 

1. Video Game Designer
The primary responsibility of a Video Game Designer is to designs video games. This requires a combination of skills in art, design, coding, and user experience, which could also easily translate to a UX designer career track. Video Game Designers may be known as Game Designer, Level Designer, or Content Designer. 
Average salary: $67K-$70K

2. Video Game QA Tester 
A Video Game QA Tester primarily tests video games for quality assurance. QA Testers with some coding skills can double their salary. This job is related to tech roles like QA Tester, Quality Assurance Tester, or Black Box Tester. 
Average Game Tester salary: $34K
Average Software QA Tester salary: $58K - $70K

3. Video Game Programmer
A Video Game Programmer develops code for video games. Video Game Programmers can specialize in specific career tracks, including front end development, mobile development, and full stack development. A Video Game Programmer may also be known as Coder, Engineer, or Developer. 
Average salary: $66K (This salary can increase depending on your coding knowledge!) 

4. Video Game Artist/Animator
A Video Game Artist animates video games, bringing the video game to life. While a UI artist pays attention to the look of a game, a UX designer operates with empathy for how a game feels. A Video Game Artist may also be known as an Animator, Modeler, Concept Artist, UI Artist, or Technical Artist. 
Average salary: $60K

5. Video Game Audio Engineer 
A Video Game Audio Engineer designs sound for video games to create the audible experience. If you’re moved by the music in a video game, this is a great career for gamers! This role may also appear as Sound Designer, Composer, or Audio Implementer.
Average salary: $42K

6. Digital Marketer
While not specifically a career for gamers, any company that supports the development of a video game will need a skilled digital marketer to showcase the design and usability of a video game to enhance sales. 
Average salary: $68K

3 Industries That Hire Gamers

From casinos to virtual reality to sports betting and gaming, companies are supporting jobs for gamers. There are tons of companies building games for sports, entertainment, science, and education industries, supporting ample careers for gamers. 

1. Sports & Entertainment Industry

Sports and entertainment companies may offer vast careers for gamers that know how to code, develop mobile apps, and research users for new games and clients: 

• Casinos and sports betting companies, like Caesars in Las Vegas and PointsBet in Denver.
• Game distributors, like Aristocrat, Deck Nine Games, Cosm, Spotlight Sports Group, and DoubleDown Interactive.
• Development studios, like Crunchyroll and Intercept Games. 

2. Science & Health Technology Industry 

Companies offering careers for gamers are also abundant in the global tech space and healthcare industries. Level Ex is using medical simulation technology and mobile games to communicate healthcare treatments. Twill (The Intelligent Healing Company) is using AI and digital therapies to deliver personalized treatment. Interest in the user experience and innovative ways to connect with people lead to rewarding careers for gamers. 

3. Education Industry

As edtech expands, so does the need for more educational gaming content. Edtech companies like GameDesk, Duolingo, Kuato Studios, and Zigazoo are creating cutting-edge new ways to help learners acquire new skills. 

The Tech Skills Gamers Need to Know

The tech skills gamers need to know to build careers for gamers include: coding, virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), digital media, mobile app development, big data, interactive software, mobile development, software development, and information technology (IT). 

• For artists and animators: It’s important to know how to use Sketch, Figma, and InDesign to showcase your designs to an engineering team. If you are working as a UX designer for a game, you may also need to know how to code using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS as well as proficiency in Adobe Suite.
• For programmers, developers, and engineers, proficiency in coding is a must! This includes understanding HTML, JavaScript, CSS, C, and Unity. 

How to Learn Game Development at a Coding Bootcamp

Careers for gamers don’t require college degrees. In fact, you can learn the skills necessary to build a lucrative tech career by learning in an accelerated program bootcamp! Apply your love of gaming to a rewarding career by enrolling in a bootcamp specifically aimed at game development &/or design:

• CEI Escuela de Diseño
• GameDevIQ
• Gamedev Punks
• Holberton School
• Indie Game Academy
• NYU Tandon School of Engineering Bootcamps
• Playcrafting
• Tech Educators
• The Tech Academy
• Vertex School
• XR Terra 

If you aspire to be a Video Game Programmer, you can also choose to specialize in mobile app development, front end development, or full stack development. 

If you dream of becoming a Video Game Artist or Animator, enrolling at UX design bootcamp may increase your skill set. 

If you would like to be a Digital Marketer for a game company, consider enrolling at a digital marketing bootcamp to help you understand the many aspects of this career. 

Whether you want to dive into the artistic side, the programming side, or the advertising side, there are abundant careers for gamers, many of which are supported by learning at a bootcamp!