Getting paid for playing video games at home sounds like a pipe dream, right? This is one of those things that sets off the, “too good to be true” alarms, I know! I’m writing this article to let you know that you could land one of these jobs, if you know the secret to getting inside the business. Great jobs like these only last because people don’t know how to get them, and if you have previously searched for a video game testing job, you probably know this to be true!

The video game industry is rated at some 50 billion dollars and it is growing very quickly. Experts say that they expect exponential growth over the next couple of years, as well! What does this mean then, exactly? It means that now is the absolute perfect time to get your foot in the door of this industry. With the huge growth in the video game business you can expect many gaming testing jobs opening, including some very nice high paying opportunities as these companies try to best their competitors and grab up all of the best testers. Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine waking up and being excited to go to work. Imagine getting paid for what you love to do. This article will show you exactly what you need to do to become a video game tester.

The first thing I did was contact game developers. Most of the companies that produce video games do not post ads in the daily classifieds or online like most other companies do. I am not sure why they don’t but I have never seen a job posting like that.

Search online for “a list of video game companies”. There are hundreds of companies that create video games that need beta testers. All you have to do is find these companies and present yourself to them. Make sure you are professional though, don’t just email them and say you want to test video games.

Create a resume. It might sound silly, but if you have a resume about your gaming experience then you will look much more professional and you will be more likely to get hired to test video games.

The next thing you need to do is follow up. Follow up with the companies that you talk to and let them know what systems you own and that you are available to start testing games immediately.

You will eventually get your first game to test and what you will also want to do is continue contacting companies to test games for. You are not actually employed by these companies so once you test a game for one company they may not have another game for you to test for a few months. It is a good idea to spend a few hours a day contacting companies asking to test games even if you already have plenty to test. You don’t want to run out of work.

For many, working as a video game programmer at a famous development studio sounds like a dream job. I have been a video game programmer for seven years now and would like to share my four best tips for making this dream a reality.

Know what you’re getting into

Before you dive into becoming a video game programmer, spend a little time to research what working at a video game studio actually entails. You don’t want to spend time and effort becoming a video game programmer only to realize that it’s not what you were hoping for.

Working as a video game programmer takes a lot of effort. The work hours and deadlines can get stressful, especially near the end of a project. Talk with people who are in the video game business, either in person or online, about any questions you may have about the business.

Create your own games

Try your hand at making your own games at home to see what it’s like. You can start with simple projects first, such as basic text games or simple shooters. Grab a book on video game programming at your local bookstore (there are many to choose from) and dive in. C and Java are good programming languages to start out with. Read the rest of this entry »