Is It Possible To Earn $100 As A Game Tester?

So, Are You Ready To Learn Everything About Becoming Game Tester And Earning $100 Per Hour? Here’s The Guide

This is the most comprehensive guide on how to become a game tester that includes what it takes to become a video game tester, what they really do, how much they get paid, what skills are needed for it, where to look for such jobs, and much more.

If you have the passion for playing games, then you will definitely like TESTING GAME as well, and the most important thing, you will get paid as well.

The Real Fact About Game Testing That Nobody Will Tell You

The gaming industry is the fastest growing industry in the world. A lot of multi-billion companies has the job ready for those that have the right training/skill.

One of these jobs is GAME TESTING.

Just like any other job, a game tester’s job is a real job, and it is NOT like playing a game and saying whether you like it or not. A game tester jobs are generally not a 9-5 job, but they are neither ‘from the comfort of your home’ type of job.

You will have bosses, requirements, and pressure to meet the deadline. And of course, as your experience and position grow, so does your salary and opportunity to work for big gaming companies which pays much better.

However, to land your first video game testing job, you need to know how to put yourself in front of the right people so that you will get the advantage over all other candidates. And if you want to learn about these secrets, then you have reached the right place.

Being in the gaming industry for 13 years and working in many roles such as tester, designer, programmer, writer, and technical director, I can give you lots of inside information that most of the people can’t.

Before I start, I would like to share something valuable with you.

So let’s check out the first chapter of how to become a game tester.

Chapter 1: Is Game Testing For You? 2 Rules of Game Testing:

Whenever I start working with a new team of game testers or introduce new members in our team, I gave them two rules:

• Rule 1: Don’t Panic
• Rule 2: Trust No One

Rule #1: Don’t Panic:

In a gaming project, panic is a bad thing. When the person is the panicking, and he chooses not to panic, but he doesn’t realize it is happening. Panic is an irrational behavior to circumstances that lead testers to cause harm to the gaming project.

Failing to notice a defect, or testing a wrong build, or sending the developer on a wild-goose chase to a non-exist bug may not harm you physically but it will result in extra time, extra money, and the loss of sales and reputation.

I conclude panic in the game project happens for five reasons: Unfamiliar, Unprepared, Unrested, Under Pressure, and Nearsighted.

Rule #2: Don’t Trust Anyone:

When it comes to business, trust is a significant issue. Especially in the gaming industry, where they are a huge investment involved from investors.

In fact, the area of TESTING is built in the project because something can’t be trusted.

Media and public don’t trust your game that it will be that exciting and fun as shown in the trailer(s) that’s why they demand screenshots, demos, critics’ reviews, and gameplay videos.

Even publishers don’t trust the developers that their game will be free from defects, they hire their in-house game testing team before releasing it for the public.

Don’t take it personally, but when there is money, trusting is an issue.

It takes a lot of money, resources, hard work, and time to develop a single game. And if it doesn’t come out right then, it quickly becomes a victim of rants, and complaints posted on the public board. Make sure you don’t let it happen to you.

Chapter 2 – What Exactly Does Game Testers Do?

If you know anything about programming, then you should know that the coding that is required to make modern games is super long. Your job as a game tester is to find out mistakes in these games and report them to the game development team.

While different game testing companies have a different way of finding errors in their coding, the most common is to go through the whole game and make sure every single item, weapon, object, event, and so on are working as they should be. As you know, all these latest MMO games have hundreds of weapons and skills so that the game testing job can become extremely tedious.

Video game tester’s job is to find glitches or problems with the gameplay, music, script, graphics, and different areas of the game. Once you find these errors, you have to report them and tell the game designers how to reproduce them.

Video game testers also have to test the limitations of the game. For example, many players want to experiment with different things that game not designed for – such as building the strongest army, reaching to the tallest building, and so forth. Game tester has to perform all these things and notify the development team what happens when they do the specific action.

In short, a game tester has to break the game before the public get the chance to do it.

Types Of Testing:

When it comes to the expectations and tasks that a gaming company has from their game tester, then it varies a lot.

Video game testing is broken down into two areas of testing:

• Static or Structured Testing
• Dynamic or Unstructured Testing (also called Adhoc Testing)

If you want to learn about how to become a game tester, then you should know about the difference between static and dynamic testing.

Static or Structure Testing – In static testing, the game development team provides a test case to the game tester to follow. This test case includes instructions for testing different aspects or areas of the game and check if it has any error. The test case includes things like running against the wall to make sure if a character goes through them or checking if the game interface is working.

Dynamic Or Unstructured Testing – In this type of testing, a game tester has to play a certain level or map and find glitches. Game testers have to go through every area of the game and try unique things that they think public might do.

Chapter 3: What It Takes To Become A Game Tester?

We are in the year in which unemployment is at its peak. Millions of people are searching for how to become a video game tester to make a side-income. There are hundreds of candidates for any job. Similarly, when it comes to working in an industry that remained unaffected in past recessions, then no one wants to waste this chance.

Skill

Although, the game tester doesn’t need any degree or particular skill but having it will increase your chances of getting hired by big game development companies.

Here are a few skills you can learn to improve your chances:

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator	MS Excel and MS Doc (to create reports)
Adobe Flash and 2D Animation	Written and Verbal English Communication Skill
2D Sketching	Excellent Math Skill
Time Management	C/C++ Language
English Communication	Python Language

Note: You can see this list of programming languages that can improve your chances of getting job in a game testing industry.

These are some of the skills that you need to learn to find a variety of jobs in the gaming industry. You may not need to learn all of these, but having basic knowledge about them will definitely put you above than other candidates and ultimately increases of getting hired.

Qualifications:

Some big gaming companies like Rockstar, Blizzard, EA Games, and others now require candidates to have a degree in the related field – something in the game design or programming.

Don’t worry about it; you can start with the small gaming companies that don’t require a degree and gain enough experience that will come over this degree requirement.

And even if you don’t have budget or time for the traditional 4-year degree, then still there are many courses online that are either very inexpensive or comes free.

Here are some of the courses you can take:

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator courses	Graphic art courses
Game design courses	Game Engine Courses (these are best)
Computer programming courses	Writing courses

 

Honorable Mention: Udemy is one of the best sites where you can learn these courses. Courses in this site are just $10, and I prefer it over Youtube videos because it shows a progress meter that works as a motivation tool to finish your course. They have an App as well that you can use to learn anywhere.

There are some more ways to improve your chances of getting a game tester job that we will discuss in the next chapter. Let’s start

Chapter 4: How To Prepare To Be A Game Tester:

This is a crucial step of how to become a game tester, so please read it carefully.

When it comes to becoming a game tester, there are several ways that you can use to gain the skill without shelling out a lot of money to training school.

Experience:

In most cases, experience matters a lot than a degree. That’s why I will tell you some ways to improve your experience in gaming without spending a lot of money.

Create Your Own Mini-Game: Don’t worry, it is not that difficult as you think. Javascript is one of the easiest programming languages that can help you in creating your own mini-games. Your game doesn’t need to be a smashing hit. The idea is to show the gaming companies that you know what it takes when it comes to creating a game. If you don’t want to go to programming route, then still some sites can help you in creating browser game without any programming knowledge.

Create A Game Mods: With game mods, you can do unique things like changing a character’s cloth, color, or even replacing the whole character. Many gaming companies provide source files of their games to allow players to edit it. Of course, you can’t edit MMOG (a game that store data on servers) like PUBG, Fortnite, Counter-Strike, etc.

Local Gaming Events: If you are a member of any gaming community doesn’t matter if it is online or offline, then you can arrange local gaming events or competitions. It will show gaming companies that you are taking action to get more people to involve in gaming instead of just playing games.

Product Testing: When gaming companies hire employees for their game testing, they are especially looking for a testing experience. It doesn’t matter if you have kitchen utensils testing experience, it will add value in your CV. Many developers and manufacturers offer their software and products for testing that you can use for gaining testing experience.

Beta Testing: Beta testing offers excellent opportunity for you to increase your game testing experience. Many companies release the beta version of their top games that are ‘closed for public,’ and they want beta testers to report any bug that they found inside the game. Some sites release news regarding beta versions. So make sure you grab this opportunity and don’t forget to include email screenshot in your CV if you receive word of appreciation from the game developer.

Do you know you can get paid for using Facebook, Twitter, Istagram, Youtube and more. Click the image below to learn more

Chapter 5: Becoming A Gaming Expert

Now in this chapter, I am going to share valuable information with you that will help you in establishing yourself as a gaming expert. This is a very important part of a guide so make sure you read it till the end and also follow its advice.

Now there are many methods to become a ‘gaming’ expert. What you need to know is, THIS IS NOT AN OVERNIGHT OR WEEK PROCESS. It takes time to get your name and reviews reach to the right people and the right websites.

This part of this guide will show you how to become a game tester by establishing yourself as a gaming expert so that it will make your resume stronger and stand out among your competition.

Writing Reviews:

The first area where you can show your worth is writing gaming reviews for the website. Many gaming websites accept reviews and also give credit to the reviewer. You can start writing reviews of these boxing games and submit it to top sites. May be some of them will agree to post in their site.

However, before submitting your reviews to these websites, you have to improve your writing skills, and you have to be fair in rating the game so that website admins and developers know what you are talking about.

You can start by re-writing already published game reviews. However, make sure your articles are wordly completely different but deliver the same point of view. Or, you can also write from a different point of view – this means instead of liking the game, you hate it. Either way, you have to start writing gaming reviews and ready to submit them.

When your gaming reviews start getting accepted by the website admins or moderators, then you have to prepare yourself for applying as a volunteer. Yes! You have to work without pay. Many people are ready to do these jobs in their part-time to improve their experience and make resume stronger.

When applying of volunteer job, don’t forget to mention about your gaming experience or attach your reviews for the administrator to see you are serious in working with them.

When you have to apply as a volunteer in these gaming sites?

First, you have to collect good sources of sites where you can submit your reviews. You have to get your review published in at least four sites. This may sound a lot – but the better, the quicker you get it done, the higher the chances you will have to secure a job as a game reviewer.

When you gain some experience in game reviews, then you have to start writing a review on some big Xbox one games and also apply as a volunteer reviewer. This way many administrators will take you seriously and glad to have you as a reviewer.

When you work with bigger sites, employers will see you have enough gaming experience and able to write about games, and they will know you have the drive to test games completely.

Writing Blogs:

Writing a blog is also one of the great ways to establish yourself as a gaming expert. A blog can contain both reviews and articles. It is a lot easier to set up your own blog or you can pay for the domain related to gaming and setup blog there. This will help you to share your own opinion about the game and you can run it as you like.

In your blog, you can also design it in your way, write your own opinion without anyone’s influence, share tricks to help other gamers or share walkthroughs. This way gamers will understand what you are talking about and they start trusting your information.

Gaming blog is one of the best ways to put your written work on the internet, and it is a good step towards becoming a gaming expert.

Writing Articles:

As you continue writing reviews about different games, it is now the right time to create articles and give out helpful tips and tricks about games you like. For example, if you like a review for games on a site, then you can search on the forum to see what question gamers are asking and then research on it and create an article to answer their question in a detailed way.

Articles are normally 300+ words, and gaming articles should contain a beginning, middle, and ending. Make sure you check out some sites to get an idea about how a good article looks like.

It is very important to write an article on gaming topics you are familiar with. If you write an article that doesn’t sound good, then it will drop your reputation as a gaming expert instead of rising.

Here are some steps that help you to write a good gaming article:

Find a Good Topic – Take time to find out a good topic to write. Don’t monitor time as it may take you very long to discover your first topic for the article. Start by searching the gaming forum and analyze what gamers want to know. Then, you have to research the question and come up with a detailed answer that can help gamers.

Learn How To Use Keywords – Keywords are the search terms that people use to find information. Many sites can help you to come up with the best keywords for your topic. Then include these keywords into your articles that will bring visitors into your site. You have to make sure these keywords flow into your article and not look like you include them forcefully.

Start Writing – This may seem the hardest part now, but as you practice, you will get better. Make sure when you write, don’t forget to include your unique style of writing and add some fun in the article. Make your article informative so that gamers will see you as an expert about the specific game.

Review Your Article – Once you are done writing an article, it is important to review it once again. Make sure your article doesn’t have any spelling or grammar mistakes. Also, read your article aloud to make sure it sounds good. This is important because once you published your article online and it has spelling or grammar mistakes, then gamers will not read your article completely, and they will not label you as a gaming expert.

Now you come to know about some principles of writing articles, and it is the time to start writing. You will find numerous websites that accept guest posting and also give credit to the author. These websites usually have a good flow of visitors and you can get a lot of readers to your article immediately once you get your article published in one of these sites.

Preparation Is Key

Now you have all the information about how to become a game tester, and you are in a better position to land a job as a game tester. Initially, you have to work as a volunteer because it will help you in gaining experience that is vital in getting a game tester job.

Keep in mind, thousands of people want to get into the gaming industry. Don’t let them beat you for your dream job. You have to prepare better and become a gaming expert to beat your competition and get a job as a game tester.

Chapter 6: How Much Game Testers Make In A Month? (Salary)

Game testing is not working a few days in a week and pulling up six-figure income. There will be times when the games will be on the edge of releasing to the public, and you will be working 80+ hours in a week just to make sure everything is perfect.

You will get extra pay for your overtime from companies that will push up game tester’s salary. On average, a game tester is making $35,000 a year in the United States.

Game tester usually gets hourly payment. The more work you put in, the higher your paycheck will be. Several things affect game tester salary such as, what level of game tester you are and since how long you have been with the company.

Many game testers usually get $8-15 per hour, but some top-level game testers get even $80 per hour. Some game testers also get more than the $80 per hour because they are working since very long and have degrees/skills that very few have.

You can reach their level by increasing your experience and learning skills that I mentioned above. Just like any other job, you will get increment and yearly bonus, but it will take very long to become top-level game tester.

Chapter 7: How To Find A Game Testing Job

This is one of the important chapters of this guide on how to become a game tester because you need to know the right sources from where you can get a game tester job.

You have to go hunting a game tester job. Yep! You have to hunt for a job. Gaming companies don’t usually post game testing jobs in the newspaper because they are looking for specific and trusted people for these positions.

You have to find job vacancies at the very minute they open. The best way is to make it happen is to meet people from different gaming companies. Keep in regular contact with them and tell them to notify you if there is any job vacancy for a game tester.

You have to look for a game testing job both online and through your contacts. Your goal should be to get a game testing job in any gaming company, it doesn’t matter if it is a low pay job. Once you get the job, then you can work your way up to get your dream job.

Where To Start Your Search?

When you start looking for a game tester jobs then I suggest you start with smaller companies. Although, they don’t pay much but they are more apt to look beginner resume and can offer you a job as compared to big gaming companies, which pay much higher.

Where to start?

If you search for “gaming companies,” then you will find thousands of these companies. But as you can’t visit each of them, that is why you need to filter out big companies for now (if you are a complete beginner).

You can also look for jobs in gaming job sites. Yes! As the gaming industry is growing, many job vaccines get posted every day on the sites that I mentioned below:

• http://www.monster.com
• http://www.careerbuilder.com
• http://www.indeed.com
• http://www.job-hunt.org
• http://www.naukri.com (job site for those in India)
• http://www.TheLadders.com
• http://www.job.com
• http://www.jobsonline.net
• http://www.gamejobs.com

Beside these gaming job sites, you can also look in the career/job section of any gaming site. You will find game tester jobs.

Chapter 8: How To Apply For A Game Testing Job:

One important thing you have to do when to find a game testing job is to take your application in yourself or mail it to the person; email is highly impersonal. If you can hand deliver your application, then it will be a great help in selecting you for an interview. Although some gaming companies receive an application by email only, but it never hurts in trying to mail them.

Writing A Winning Resume:

When game companies post any game testing job, they usually receive hundreds of resumes. They quickly go through them and reject many of them just by the way how a resume looks overall. When ‘good’ resumes left out, they go through a proper screening process.

A perfect candidate left out from the screening process just because his resume is not up to the par.

I don’t want you to be the person who left out because of how your resume looks. I will show you how to talk with gaming companies through your resume to have a better chance of getting a response from them. A winning resume automatically has a better chance of getting a response.

I know many sites can show you how to prepare your resume to stand out from others but they are not specific for the game testing job. Now, if you are learning how to become a game tester, then I feel I have to show you the right and best way to make your resume stand out for a game testing job.

Resume Basics:

These are a few guidelines that every winning resume follows. Although, some flexibility is allowed in these guidelines but don’t go overboard with these guidelines. Here are some guidelines you should follow:

• Bold is exciting, but don’t overdo it – you have to look confident on your skills but not too over-confident or flashy about them.
• Use regular language – Many gaming companies want to know if you know the lingo (foreign words) and there is no problem in using them in your resume. But again, don’t overdo them or use them for long sentences.
• Summarize – The real purpose of a resume is to summarize your skills, education, talent, and experiences for the gaming company to call you for an interview for a more in-depth look into your skills.
• Length Is Vital – The length of the resume is vital. You should limit your resume to 1-3 pages. There is no need to go further than that doesn’t matter who you are.

Resume Appearance:

The way your resume looks is essential for increasing the chance of getting a call for an interview. If your resume looks messy, then your resume will not get any response for gaming companies. But don’t worry, there are a few things you can do to make your resume look great.

• First is, you have to choose the right paper that your resume is printed on. You can select any type of paper other than a plain typing paper. For creating a resume for gaming companies, I would like to go with light gray paper or any color other than egg-shell white paper that most people use. You should also choose a paper size that is slightly bigger and heavier than the others. The idea is to make your resume stand out from others without overdoing it.
• Second is, never use low-quality printer or ink on your resume, especially when you are trying to impress gaming companies. Always use high-quality printer or ink as it prints letters clear and sharp that makes your resume stand out.
• Third is, don’t overcrowd your resume. You have to leave some ‘white’ space to make important points pop up.
• Fourth is, never put any handwritten words or do any handwritten correction in your resume.
• Fifth is, use bold or slightly larger text for your headings. These are the areas that separate sections, so make them stand out but don’t overdo them.
• Sixth is, don’t use image or logo. Even if you use a specific logo, this is not the place to put it. The idea is not to be over creative when it comes to colors and fonts.
• Seventh is, make sure your resume is accurate. This is very important. You have to make sure there are no misspelled words, no mistakes, no punctuation problems, and no problems whatsoever.
• Eighth is, make sure your resume is factually correct. For example, if you mention you attend school for three years but have two years of grade to show, then it will raise a red flag and gaming companies will wonder why these problems are.

Make sure your resume looks good so that it passes for the next round.

Specific Resume Topics To Include:

As you are learning about how to become a game tester, you need to know which topics matter to gaming companies and which are not. Here’s a list of issues that you SHOULD INCLUDE in your resume.

• Job Objective – This will let gaming companies know why you are interested in a specific type of work with them. This has to do in 2 or 3 sentences. Example: To work in a professional working environment that allows me to focus on graphic art details in the game. To oversee the graphic art testing of the new MMO game hitting the market.
• Summary of Qualification – This section should contain short summary of your education and skills. Example: I have three years of experience working on testing MMORPG for ABGaming Company.
• Professional Skills – This section gives out details about your qualifications. Example: ADMINISTRATION – Supervised three video game testers in the absence of department head.
• Work Experience – In this section include one short paragraph of each of your previous job. Make sure you include starting/ending date, the reason for leaving, job description, destination, and your accomplishment in each of the previous job.
• Education – This section should include a summary of all the schools you’ve visited, the seminars you’ve attended, the training courses you’ve completed, etc.
• Honors and Awards – This is a great place to show off your awards and honors you’ve got in your life especially if it is related to gaming. This increases the interest of gaming companies in hiring you.
• Personal – This section should talk about yourself, your hobbies, activities, and games you currently play. Make sure you don’t make this section too long and don’t include too much information about yourself.
• Others – This section should include the name of the organization from where you learn a specific skill, or book or videos you’ve published, or the name and link of your gaming blog or Youtube channel.
• References – Usually resume contains references, but you don’t have to put them. Instead mention ‘References Will Be Provided Upon Request.’
• Evidence – In this section, you have to prove everything you list with substantial evidence. This includes a list of websites where you’ve posted your reviews or websites where your mods are available for download or the link to your Youtube gaming channel or contact information of the college you attended, and so on.

While all these sections are important to include in your resume for a game testing job, however, the most important thing is, you should always remain truthful. Don’t try to oversell yourself by mentioning the degree or skills or experiences that you don’t have. Misrepresentation or misleading someone will not help you in getting a job and it may put you under hot water.

Trust me; it is not that difficult to create a resume for a game testing job if you clearly understand how to become a game tester and follow simple guidelines outlined in your resume.

A New Beginning!

15 Years ago, when I was looking for a job in the gaming industry, there was no proper guide that can teach me or give me inside information on how to become a game tester.

After establishing myself in this industry, my people were asking me many questions related to the game testing job. Although it sounds good to get paid by playing games, but playing and testing are both different things.

If you like to become a game tester and get a high paycheck, then it takes a long time now. By following the steps above, you can climb the ladder and get your first job as a game tester. I highly suggest you to KEEP LEARNING as technology is changing at a fast speed, and if you don’t update yourself with the latest programming language or designing software, then you will be left behind.

With that being said, I want you to follow these steps for how to become a game tester that I mentioned above and let me know if you got your first job as a game tester in the comment box below. No one will be happier than me.