Video Games Beta Tester

Before you ask if the title is in actual fact a real job, it is! You can become a video games beta tester and yes, you will get paid for playing games - all day, every day! That is what a games tester does.

Sit through hours of game play, checking there are no technical issues or game flaws and then reporting the information back to a representative of the company that is hiring you. After all, someone has to make sure the games are ready to be sold!

Wow! A games testing job… what exactly is involved? Well, as the name suggests, you get paid to play games. More than one hundred games are released on a yearly basis by huge gaming manufacturers and each of these games that you have bought has had to go through a lengthy testing process to ensure that the game is right, continuity is kept up and that there are no technical faults with the game. Every single one of these games may have had up to a team of fifty people testing it at any one point to ensure that no problem escapes the tester's clutches.

So, is it hard to become a video games beta tester?

Actually, no. You would think that people would be queuing up around the block to get a job like this but with the increased number of games being released every single year, there has never been a bigger demand for these testers and it is surprisingly easy to make it in the world of game testing. If the games are not up to scratch, people won't buy them and the company would not make any money, therefore it pays for them to be tested at an early stage to ensure no future problems or complaints from unhappy customers!

What do I need to do?

First of all, you need to think about whether or not you have what it takes to be a video games beta tester. Yes, you will have to enjoy playing games all day, every day; but you also need to have the capacity to think of this as a job because in reality, that's what it is. You will also need a serious amount of dedication and an eye for detail. Missing one vital flaw on the game you are playing will result in an unfinished product being sold, hence a very unhappy company and you may not get paid for all of the hard work you have put in.

As well as this, you need to have a serious attention span! Very often you will find a flaw in one particular scene of a game. You will then send this flaw off and they will give the game back to you, fixed, (hopefully) and then you will have to play it again. The flaw may turn up again and so the whole process repeats. You may be required to play the same scene over and over again! If you think you can do this however, you can proceed to finding yourself a games testing job.

How can I find games testing jobs?

Well, the best place to start looking if you want to become a video games beta tester is the internet. The World Wide Web really is just that, wide! There are hundreds of companies crying out for your help right now and all it will take is a couple of hours sat in front of your computer, trawling through the sites to find the job that is right for you. Once you have found one, you must apply and then follow the instructions given to you.

Are there any things I need to remember?

Well, first of all, there are a number of eighteen plus aged games out there and it will require a tester that is aged 18 or over. However, there are some companies that will go down to 16 or 17 and you just won't be offered the over eighteen aged jobs.

Nevertheless, you will need to have some experience with video games, but seeing as most of us have played at least one video game in our lives, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Some companies will also require a high school graduate, although this varies from company to company.