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Game engineer vs data engineer

The differences between game engineers and data engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a game engineer and a data engineer. Additionally, a data engineer has an average salary of $109,675, which is higher than the $104,976 average annual salary of a game engineer.

The top three skills for a game engineer include unity, python and game engine. The most important skills for a data engineer are python, java, and cloud.

Game engineer vs data engineer overview

Game EngineerData Engineer
Yearly salary$104,976$109,675
Hourly rate$50.47$52.73
Growth rate21%21%
Number of jobs242,571303,105
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age3939
Years of experience44

What does a game engineer do?

The main task of a game engineer is to design software programs for computer games. Game engineers develop gaming networks and programs for third-party-usage. They create the mechanics of the games, which are coordinated with a story. Also called specialized software engineers, they create coding sequences for gameplay. They may need to establish various codes for gaming devices. The skills they need include knowledge of gaming trends, teamwork skills, programming language proficiency, and creativity.

What does a data engineer do?

A data engineer is someone who makes data science possible. This IT job requires the search for data set trends and algorithm development to make raw data more beneficial to the enterprise. Data engineers are responsible for establishing and maintaining an environment that permits other data functions. The necessary skills for the job include in-depth knowledge of multiple programming languages and SQL database design. Among the other skills data engineers should develop include data warehousing and architecture, data mining and modeling, and statistical regression analysis.

Game engineer vs data engineer salary

Game engineers and data engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Game EngineerData Engineer
Average salary$104,976$109,675
Salary rangeBetween $72,000 And $152,000Between $80,000 And $149,000
Highest paying CityNovato, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaThe Citadel
Best paying industryStart-upTechnology

Differences between game engineer and data engineer education

There are a few differences between a game engineer and a data engineer in terms of educational background:

Game EngineerData Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Game engineer vs data engineer demographics

Here are the differences between game engineers' and data engineers' demographics:

Game EngineerData Engineer
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 96.5% Female, 3.5%Male, 81.5% Female, 18.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 31.3% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 30.1% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between game engineer and data engineer duties and responsibilities

Game engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.
  • Design and develop mobile and PC strategy F2P MMO in Java, PlayN, and Box2D.
  • Localize support web sites in JavaScript and PHP.
  • Full ownership of verifying and debugging the game.
  • Work with animators and tools developers to improve animation blend tool.
  • Integrate levels with UI, leaderboard, achievement and persistence systems.
  • Show more

Data engineer example responsibilities.

  • Used SQOOP to import the data from RDBMS to HDFS to achieve the reliability of data.
  • Develop automation scripts in python to automate the test, analyze, plot and report the results.
  • Used Linux shell scripts to automate the build process, and to perform regular jobs like file transfers between different hosts.
  • Increase audit efficiency by developing SAS programs to automate manual testing procedures.
  • Used Teradata database management system to manage the warehousing operations and parallel processing.
  • Configure and manage JobScope ERP system for a make-to-order/make-to-stock design and manufacturing environment.
  • Show more

Game engineer vs data engineer skills

Common game engineer skills
  • Unity, 14%
  • Python, 12%
  • Game Engine, 9%
  • Animation, 9%
  • Java, 8%
  • UI, 7%
Common data engineer skills
  • Python, 12%
  • Java, 9%
  • Cloud, 5%
  • ETL, 5%
  • Scala, 4%
  • Kafka, 4%

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