Getting Hired as a Video Game Tester

One of the biggest misconceptions people have before getting hired as a video game tester is that the title says it all. If you have been searching the web on this subject I'm sure you have seen the following pitch page. "Get a job as a video game beta tester making up to $100 dollars an hour while never leaving your home!" You need to forget about those notions of sitting around your apartment playing the latest version of Halo all day only to get up for bathroom breaks and to pay the pizza dude.

This is grunt work plain and simple! Believe me, I'm not trying to discourage you. If you have a passion for video games then you should at least check it out. You will be playing unfinished games while looking for errors or bugs in the gameplay. The work can be flat out grueling and tedious. Have you ever played a game that was fun but had terrible save points? You fight your way through an entire level only to die with the save point just out of reach. Then you have to start over from the beginning.

It's fun the first time but when you have to repeat that same process over and over it gets to be more work then fun. This is an example of one of the grueling things you will be required to do while game testing. The only difference is that you will be required to find bugs while at times playing the same level or section for hours and hours at a time. It's not uncommon for testers to get sick of doing this after a while. The majority of people who want a career working with video games are applying as testers simply to get their foot in the door. They are just hoping to use the position as a means of advancement into another area of development.

These salary numbers came from a 2008 copy of Game Developer Magazine.
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Programmers: $85,024
Artists: $69,532
Game Designers: $67,379
Producers: $82,905
Quality Assurance: $39,571 (This one is testers).
Audio: $78,167
Business & Marketing: $102,143

As stated earlier after you get hired as a video game tester you will be starting at the bottom of the heap. These numbers are also for full time employees. Many companies will hire out testers on a temporary basis. Often when a game is getting close to completion companies may hire out additional testers on a three to six month contract to help maintain deadlines in the development process. It is just my opinion but I believe that a tester earning 39K a year is probably getting a lot of overtime.

For additional information on Getting hired as a video game tester check out this link.

These are the sites that you keep running into while doing your research on getting hired as a video game tester. These websites usually charge a one time membership fee to join up. They basically save time because they post video game testing jobs from companies all over the world. They update these listings regularly so applicants can apply. Their are many of these sites on the internet but to keep this process simple I will only talk about the three most popular.

1.Only 4 Gamers - This is the only pay for info site that I can actually give an honest opinion on. I went ahead and took a chance and paid the lifetime membership fee to check it out. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of information they offered for a one time price of $37.97. Some of the sections listed on their home page include:

Game Testing Courses
Job Openings
Gaming Companies
Video Game Schools

Under the game testing courses link they offer eight courses which include the following.

1.Introduction to game testing
2.The truth about game testing
3.Things to know before getting started
4.Building your skill set
5.The Mechanics of game testing
6.Your resume and cover letter
7.How to interview
8.The Job Hunt

You can hunt down some job openings on your own by visting various sites like EA or Blizzard. Honestly though, if your just starting out are totally clueless and just want to learn more about the overall process from start to finish then this site is a heck of a deal. Their webpage has a video that gives you an inside peek you can check it out at the Only 4 Gamers website. You will have to submit your email address to get access to the video. Don't worry though, I have never been spammed by these guys.


The two other pay for info sites are called Gamer Testing Ground and Gamer Tester Guide.net. I have never accessed these sites but I would imagine that they are probably quite similar to Only 4 Gamers.com. All three sites have been around for quite a while.