If playing video games is the love of your life and you regularly spend time doing this, then surely being paid to play would be the ideal career? The question is, do these jobs exist in the real world?
The video game tester job really does exist, but maybe not on the terms you'd expect. The idea of earning a career from this hobby has been poisoned by many get rich quick online schemes.
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. There are plenty of scams out there which will gladly take your cash in return for some quickly rehashed e-book that promises to make you a guru in the video game testing community. Take these offers with a pinch of salt and use your intuition to discern the wheat from the chaff.
Now we're not saying that all these online guides are scams, in fact some actually work, but a large majority sucker you in with high earning figures, when the reality is in stark contrast to the claims.
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. You need to hone your communication skills so that you can articulate your findings to other employees and games designers. Whether you work in a building or from home, you must be able to make your points clear on issues within a game, as million dollar budgets ride on these. Being able to read, write and speak English is a must.
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 want to consider a traditional way into quality assurance testing you might need to enroll in evening or night classes at a local college. Your levels of perseverance will determine whether or not you complete the learning.
4. Professionalism will set you apart from your peers, but make you ultimately more employable to companies. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can earn large amounts of money by sitting on a bean bag at home all day gaming and snacking away.
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.
When you're starting out you're more likely to have to go into a place of work, which means you'll need to dress to a company standard and behave accordingly.
Your resume will play a key role in getting your foot in the door in the first place. Make sure this is current, detailed and lists all relevant qualifications. Quality assurance is the role you'll be applying for so don't put video game tester anywhere on the page!
5. Be realistic about this new career path and keep the other points in check. Video gaming is extremely popular and so are roles within the industry.
Depending on your qualifications, experience and contacts it might take you months or even years to obtain a video game tester job. Know that if you do the right things you'll eventually get a chance and it's then up to you if you seize that chance or let if fall away.
E-books are not the devil, some of these products will make you money, but go in with your eyes open and be prepared to make small amounts at first.
Keep the realism point in the back of your mind at all times. Playing video games for fun won't be the same as playing them for a living. You'll be most likely testing certain parts of a game to find code anomalies and this might involve massive repetition to prove there is a fault.
Quality assurance testing is a job not a hobby. Keep this thought in your mind and every action and you'll avoid the pitfalls of your peers who expect an easy ride.
The video game tester job really does exist, but maybe not on the terms you'd expect. The idea of earning a career from this hobby has been poisoned by many get rich quick online schemes.
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. There are plenty of scams out there which will gladly take your cash in return for some quickly rehashed e-book that promises to make you a guru in the video game testing community. Take these offers with a pinch of salt and use your intuition to discern the wheat from the chaff.
Now we're not saying that all these online guides are scams, in fact some actually work, but a large majority sucker you in with high earning figures, when the reality is in stark contrast to the claims.
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. You need to hone your communication skills so that you can articulate your findings to other employees and games designers. Whether you work in a building or from home, you must be able to make your points clear on issues within a game, as million dollar budgets ride on these. Being able to read, write and speak English is a must.
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 want to consider a traditional way into quality assurance testing you might need to enroll in evening or night classes at a local college. Your levels of perseverance will determine whether or not you complete the learning.
4. Professionalism will set you apart from your peers, but make you ultimately more employable to companies. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can earn large amounts of money by sitting on a bean bag at home all day gaming and snacking away.
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.
When you're starting out you're more likely to have to go into a place of work, which means you'll need to dress to a company standard and behave accordingly.
Your resume will play a key role in getting your foot in the door in the first place. Make sure this is current, detailed and lists all relevant qualifications. Quality assurance is the role you'll be applying for so don't put video game tester anywhere on the page!
5. Be realistic about this new career path and keep the other points in check. Video gaming is extremely popular and so are roles within the industry.
Depending on your qualifications, experience and contacts it might take you months or even years to obtain a video game tester job. Know that if you do the right things you'll eventually get a chance and it's then up to you if you seize that chance or let if fall away.
E-books are not the devil, some of these products will make you money, but go in with your eyes open and be prepared to make small amounts at first.
Keep the realism point in the back of your mind at all times. Playing video games for fun won't be the same as playing them for a living. You'll be most likely testing certain parts of a game to find code anomalies and this might involve massive repetition to prove there is a fault.
Quality assurance testing is a job not a hobby. Keep this thought in your mind and every action and you'll avoid the pitfalls of your peers who expect an easy ride.
About the Author:
Want to find out more about video game testing jobs, then visit Pietro T Gambini's site on how to achieve these goals.
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