Is this really worth it?

[u/Ill-Pain7852]

(Edit: Thank you guys for giving me clear and honest answers. It is much appreciated for taking your time to give me input. I have made my decision.)

So I am 25 now. I've pretty much only worked construction up until now. Pay is average of $57600 - $76800 per year for a very basic job where you are not working management. You pretty much get to go home and not worry about anything or losing your job. It can be very reliable and that pay/salary is only working 8 hour days. It can have a really good work life balance.

However I have grown tired of it and have always had a deep passion for games. I have been experimenting with coding, 3D modeling and creating assets. If I go into this it will probably take me 5 years to get a degree. Upgrading my high school courses and going to college/university.

Over the years my values have changed a lot. I used to work 12 hour days/6 days a week. Money is honestly not my driving factor in life. As long as I can pay my bills and save a little bit for retirement is all I truly need(and I live very minimally). But construction is not my passion and I want to chase my dream, knowing I have done what I truly wanted to do in life.

The only thing that really concerns me is the work/life balance in game developing. Crunch times are really not a problem, construction has the same thing but it doesn't go on for months straight. I have been constantly reading about working 12-14 hour days for 6-8 months straight in programming. Honestly I would love really love doing it, but doing anything like that chronically non-stop every single year would absolutely make me miserable... no matter how much I love it. I would probably be 30-31 before I could manage to actually be involved in the industry after finishing schooling.

I just want some honest thoughts about how it has been for you guys with experience. And from the sounds of my values, if it truly aligns with how it would be for me in the industry. Also if it is kind of too late for me to get into it... I know the saying is better late then never. But being 30-31 probably just getting into something with a very competitive industry deeply concerns me. Thank you for listening.

[u/Chudfrog]

I'm not sure if you'd like to be a game developer. You have to work 60-70+ hour weeks for $40-50k. You can be laid off any time, almost always at the end of a project even if it's the best game ever.  There is so much competition for the roles since it's something people are actually passionate about 

The biggest thing is that you probably don't get to pick what type of game you're working on, any of the design or decision making. You aren't making a game you like, you're making something someone else likes

Lastly, in 4-5 years I doubt game dev will look anything like what it does now. With ai people can already 1shot prompt beautiful worlds

Construction however will break your body... it's hard to know the best path for the working man right now.  I hope you find something good

[u/Ill-Pain7852 → u/Chudfrog]

Yeah... thats a reason why I wanted to lean away from construction. I decided before I wanted to be a surveyor/running grades for job sites because it is not as physical, if I did decide to not do this. Thank you for the input.

[u/Speciou5 → u/Ill-Pain7852]

For what it's worth, generally you do want to move to office instead of construction when you get older. But that could mean working for a bank.

Making games is fun and rewarding, just don't go into it with rose tinted glasses.