In this episode of Game Industry Career Guide Podcast, I answer a question from Autrey, who wants to know how she can get a job testing video games from home, but also avoid getting ripped off by a game testing scam?

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why it’s hard to find video game testing jobs that let you work from home
  • How to identify game testing websites that are actually just scams trying to rip you off
  • How you can quickly learn how to test games and apply for the best jobs as a video game tester

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This is one of more than 30 interviews with professional game developers. For more, visit Which game job is right for you?.
Bill Schneider, Video Game Tester
“Game testing can be an incredibly fulfilling career.”

Meet Bill Schneider, Video Game QA Tester

Of all the jobs in the game industry, testing video games might be the one that gamers around the world dream about most. Today we’re talking with a guy who’s not only tested games on just about every platform, but he’s also turned the job into a rich and rewarding career.

Bill Schneider has worked as a game tester for over a decade, and you can see his name in the credits of over 40 shipped titles – everything from Harry Potter to The Sims, and from Bejeweled to Assassin’s creed. Let’s find out how his career has taken him from a front-line game tester, to a manager and leader of entire testing teams at major game studios. Read more »

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QA Testers find game bugs, then hand them over to the dev team to be fixed.

Of all the jobs in the game industry, Video Game Tester inspires the most excitement, curiosity, and passion. Maybe it’s the appeal of “getting paid to play games” (spoiler alert: testers don’t just play games all day). Or maybe it’s the dream of trading your soul-crushing job for a new career you’ll truly love.

Being a QA tester isn’t a top-paying job, but it’s not a bad way to earn a living. And it’s a common starting point for newbies to break into the game industry — in fact, I started my own career as a game tester, and used it as a foundation to build a successful (and, frankly, highly-paid) career making games.

But there’s a lot of bad information out there, including scammy websites that prey on the passion of young people. It’s hard to know what’s true, and what’s hype. That’s why I compiled this in-depth Q&A, based on my own career as a game tester, plus advice and insights from many other testers I’ve worked with over the years.

After reading it, if you still have questions about a career testing games, just ask me in the comments section below.

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This article is part of the Video Game Developer Salary series. See the annual pay for all video game jobs here.

An astronaut with colorful planets
Why shoot for the moon when Reach and Pandora await you?

Table of Contents

  1. Search for Game Tester jobs
  2. Game Tester salary: Overview
  3. Game Tester salary: Factors
  4. Game Tester salary: Details
  5. Other factors that affect Tester salary
  6. Demand for Game Testers
  7. Should I become a Game Tester?

When I was a kid, everybody dreamed of growing up to be an astronaut or firefighter, a ballerina or doctor. Things have really changed! Ask a modern kid what they want to become. Even the old standbys of “rock star” and “pro athlete” have been bumped off the wish list, replaced by something that once seemed out of reach: a job as a video game tester.

By now, most grown-ups know that getting a job as a video game tester doesn’t mean you sit around and play games. But it’s still a great way to break into the game industry. In fact, I’m the poster boy for starting as a tester. I began my career in quality assurance (another name for testing, or QA). Later I went on to become a designer and an engineer, and eventually a director in charge of multiple departments. I did go to school to learn programming, but only after I’d started my QA job.

After you’ve done your research on what a video game tester actually does, you may wonder about a more practical matter: What is an average video game tester salary? Read more »

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