Video Games Tester Jobs Info 

Video Game Tester Job Openings

I included the duplicate image above to make the point that advertisements for video game tester jobs often make this career sound incredibly easy. As noted in the image above, being able to make $150 a day to sit on the couch playing video games and drinking soda. Is this a really a "dream job" or just a bunch of hype used by marketers to get you to buy their books on how to find games testing jobs?

Video Game Tester Salary or Show Me The Money!

Ok, time to get realistic about video game tester jobs. It is totally naive to expect that you will be paid $150 per day simply to have fun testing video games when you first start out. As we have already discussed when looking at get paid to play video games as a new, inexperienced tester, you will be required to do many repetitive and boring tasks. Hourly wages for beginner tend to vary from company to company, however in most cases an inexperienced game tester can expect to make around minimum wage. Depending upon where you currently live this could be in the range of $8.75 to $10.00 per hour or even lower.

This sounds about right, as if you look at other types of employment, no where do you see an inexperience beginner in any job being paid $150 per hour (unless his/her dad happens to own the company!) Yes, if you search the Web yourself for information about how much video game testers make, you will certainly see (like I did) testimonials posted in forums and blogs about "a 17 year old student making $60,000 a year testing video games" or others where the forum poster has a "friend" making $250 per hour as a video games tester.  Yeah right!

Certainly there are people who are making a ton of money in the video gaming industry, that is a fact, but these are the upper executives and very talented and experienced programmers, animators, and artists. Make no mistake, these are not your average video games testers!

In conclusion, based on my research of video game tester jobs, I must conclude that it is not the "dream job" that many people would have you believe. As noted in various sections of this website, like any job, being a video games tester has both good and bad points. Still if you really love to play video games and don't mind starting at the entry level of games testing jobs doing repetitive and boring tasks at first, then there is money to be made.  Not a lot of money at first, but if you can stick with it and get more experience there is no reason to think that you will not get more money for your testing hours and access to more enjoyable testing jobs.

With the increase in numbers of people buying video gaming systems such as the Wii, X-Box and Playstation and spending more and more time video gaming, and even online gaming such as World of Warcraft, being a video games tester is certainly not a dead end job. As time goes on, more and more testers are going to be required, so it may be a good time to look into this as a part-time job or a career. Just don't be sucked in by all the hype and promises of making $150 an hour being a video game tester at home!

How To Find Video Game Tester Jobs

There are two methods to find video game tester jobs, the free and the paid method. I define the free method is where you do all the grunt work yourself, whereas in the paid method you rely on someone to basically show you the way. Typically this involves you paying money to buy their e-book or course in exchange for their expertise and information about how, who, and where to find video game testing jobs.

As stated above, you will need to do the basic work yourself if using the free method. Here are some tips to get you started in your job search.

1. Think location- The idea of being a video game tester at home is one of the biggest myths I found in my research. It is extremely rare for anyone to be hired to work from home as a video game tester. (Although this may be changing as more and more game testers are needed). This makes perfect sense now, as we noted earlier when looking at how to become a game tester and discussing security. Testers are generally fired on the spot, and may be arrested as well, if they compromise the security surrounding video games they are testing. Allowing video game testers to work at home would be a security nightmare! So what this means to you as someone looking to break into the video game tester market, is that you must live close to the site where the gaming company has a testing facility if you have any chance of landing a job. If you are serious, then a move from your present location may be required.
2. Go online and actively search the websites of the major video game manufacturing companies such as Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, etc. to see if they are posting video game tester jobs. If necessary try to find out how you can contact their game testing department by phone or e-mail to ask about upcoming jobs.
3. Directly contact the video game designers, often a total different company than the hardware manufacturers, to see if they have any games tester jobs available.
4. Start networking with people in the gaming industry such as other people already employed as a video games tester (if you know any), and even attending any local gaming conventions where you could meet influential people in the gaming industry.
5. Attend any gaming workshop that may be offered in your area and enter gaming contests where you can demonstrate your skills and perhaps be noticed by people in the gaming industry who may be in attendance.

If you are pressed for time or simply do not wish to actively search for information and do some of the suggested free activities listed above, then buying a product about how to find video game tester jobs may be helpful. Perhaps you wish to use both methods?  Certainly this is up to you. 

The following click-able images show some current products, generally download-able e-books or memberships, that you can access immediately following your payment to the vendor, dealing with how to find video game tester jobs. (Please note that I do not personally guarantee how well these products will help you to find a video game tester job. These products do come with a satisfaction guarantee, (if ordered via these Clickbank links), that will give you a refund if you are not happy with the product.)