Transition from Game Dev programmer to Finance

Hi, I am new to the forum and in general new to the finance world. And not exactly sure how to form my question. Sorry if it sounds a bit random. I am a bit disappointed by my game dev programming carrier, as it wasn't what I expected. I graduated Computer Science/Software Engineering 4 years ago and since then I've been in game dev. Most companies are very afraid to take risks, use old tech, try to copy already existing games/tech. And because of this I ended up working long hours without a challange for myself. I am not improving on personal level, my skills are deteriorationg. I used to be good at maths, no more. I used to be good at programming, I haven't improved much, while the world has moved a lot. And salaries do not raise much in game dev. I am most likely already earning more than seniors in other companies.

I looked at some finance job offers and they ranged anywhere from £80k to £300k in London. And some of the more interesting seemed to be in 'quant' jobs. I am really interested in trading, maths and machine learning. Not sure what all the different available job paths are. In general, I am interested because of the high pay, high pressure work (this might also be a negative thing, but I enjoy a challenging job and not one that I would need 5 cups of coffee just to get me through the day without falling asleep on my desk), working with state of the art tech, always trying to be better than the competition (and not just copy what they've done).

So I would like to ask. Do you think someone with a similar experience can make the switch to finance? Where can I see available job paths? If you were in my situation, what would you choose to do? Is Quant/HFT dev jobs a good goal? Or should I aim for trading platform developer somewhere? Or what else is there?

In general I am a bit lost and currently reading through the forums. So any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

2 Comments
 

Est quas aliquid perspiciatis et ipsum ratione eum. Non culpa praesentium esse quam cumque ipsum est.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”