For comparison, that’s roughly equivalent to 3d animator salaries in the game industry. First year out of college, you can expect somewhere around $40k a year ($60k for programmers), and you probably don’t see anything in the six digits until you start getting to team leads and other senior level positions.
I can’t speak to your numbers, but using the same salary comparison searches I used for the Pharmacy Tech position it looks like 3D Animator pay is somewhere between $50-105k national average with LA being $98-150k and NYC being $45-110k. Maybe game industry specific is the cause for your lower numbers?
Could be. I did a quick search before I posted to make sure my numbers were still relevant, because $40k is what my college professors who were working in the industry told us to expect when we graduated, and that was in 2010. What I came up with in my search was $38- 110k national average and I assumed that the upper end of that is more senior level positions and more specialized roles, as the game industry is notorious for low wages and long hours. There were stories coming out a few years ago about employees for Blizzard who were living out of their cars because they couldn’t afford rent within commuting distance of the studio in Irving, for example.
But my point was that that’s a profession that often has a 4 year degree attached that has comparable wages to a pharmacy tech. So not the worst salary range for a high school diploma and certification - though I think both fields deserve to be paid much more.