Sunday 9 December 2012

5 Steps to Become a Video Game Tester

By Pietro T Gambini


Playing video games is your passion, it's something you love doing and spending hours playing games for money sounds like a dream job right? So is there any truth to the rumour that these jobs really exist?

From our extended research into this topic we've found that video game testing jobs do exist, but they might not all match up to your dream expectations of this role.

If you're going to secure one of these dream roles, you need to have your facts straight, your expectations tempered and your hard work boots on. Then if you take into account the five points below, you'll put yourself in a strong position to make money playing video games.

1. Don't fall for the scams that you'll find all over the internet. If you type 'video game tester' into a search engine hundreds of results will come flooding back to you, linking websites to your search term and on these websites various e-Books will promise you riches.

We don't want to rule out the e-book route into video game testing, as some of these products do work, but they're in a small minority and can usually be spotted by the more down to earth earning figures.

When you start out in the video game industry you don't have the experience to demand top dollar from companies in a freelancing role. They won't pay you anything above $7-$10 per hour. It's like any other role in the world, you must have experience to earn more money. At the start you simply have to work hard to progress further.

2. Develop real world skills for a real world job. Video games companies make vast multi-million dollar products and as such employ real employees in office roles. You need to be able to communicate with these staff members, even if you get a rare chance to work from home. You'll need to be articulate and have a firm grasp of English, both spoken and written.

During conferences and meetings you'll need these communication skills to adequately make your point. It doesn't matter how good you are at finding bugs if you can't communicate this to others.

3. Determination and perseverance sounds like something a teacher would've said to you at school to make you try harder, but a lack of this remains a common reason why people fail to achieve their dreams.

Nobody will hand you a games tester job on a plate, plus you'll receive countless knock-backs and put-downs and it's how you face these and get back up which will determine whether or not you succeed.

If you lack some qualifications which would make a real difference in your new career as a quality assurance tester, you can learn these at an educational institution as long as you have the willpower to succeed.

4. A professional manner is mandatory in this industry. Many websites paint a false picture of someone sitting on a bed or easy chair, playing games while stuffing food down their necks and getting paid at the same time.

If you work from home, which is unlikely at first, you'll still be expected to work standard hours, submit timed reports and as above, communicate this in a professional and timely manner.

The greater likelihood will see you having to attend an office based environment for your job role and as such, you'll be expected to follow dress and behaviour standards.

To even get a job role in the first place you'll require a relevant, stand-out, up-to-date resume, with accurate experience, qualifications and references detailed on the page. And don't forget that you'll be applying for quality assurance roles, not video games tester jobs!

5. Realism plays a key part in keeping the other four points tight and you sane. This is a highly sought after role in a cut-throat and competitive industry.

It could take years to land that first dream job, so be prepared for disappointment and rejection early on, but be ready to dive on any chance or foot in the door you get. They'll be plenty of opposition for every role, so do anything you can to stand out.

If you decide to give the e-book route a chance, choose wisely and don't expect too much too soon. Use intuition to avoid unlikely facts and figures.

Most importantly be realistic about the actual role. Playing video games for money won't necessarily involve hitting COD for 6 hours every day. It's more likely you'll be playing certain parts of a game over and over again, type testing, looking for a bug to repeat itself.

As long as you go into the games industry with the right attitude and expectations you won't face as many disappointments and this in turn will keep the inner fires burning for your passion.




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