Video Game Jobs – Want one?

In a time of recession and unemployment you might be thinking that getting a job right now in the video game industry is impossible.

The thing is, no one’s told this particular industry that anything’s wrong with the economy!

Even now the gaming industry is booming and going from strength to strength. We are talking billions of dollars worth of business. Which is incredible considering people today have less to spend.

Video game jobs sound exciting and cool. Well let me tell you…they are! Not always, but it sure beats working behind a bar or as a shop assistant.

There are lots of different jobs that require different skills, such as programmers, graphic designers/artists, script writers, developers and of course game testers.

Some of these jobs offer extremely good wages and full time positions.

I’m guessing you’re here reading this because you are interested in becoming a video game tester. That’s great, because that’s where my interests first began and it is how I started and eventually became a full time graphic designer.

As a game tester you won’t normally hold down a full time position. You usually get a call from a games company to beta test a specific video game. This job could last a couple of days or even a week or 2 if there are lots of bugs with the program.

It is the programmers and game developers who will be working full time in the company. Your job is to try and break the game or find faults with it. To be honest, you’re not a programmers best friend when they’ve spent months working towards a finished product only for you to come along and find faults with it!

As a video game tester, you will not make a fortune and don’t let anyone tell you different. You can make good money if you stick around long enough and gain a good reputation in the industry.

But for a full time position you will eventually need to think about transferring your skills or learning new ones in order to work in another area.

There are plenty of video game jobs to be had and the hardest part is getting your first break.

As a game tester you need to make the most of opportunities that come your way in order to get your foot in the door. The hardest part is that first job.

Here’s what I would do if I was starting out right now:

Sign up to one of the websites I’ve reviewed on this site. At the moment my top recommendation is BecomeAGameTester. You can read my review here.

Then get applying for jobs and keep going until you get that break.

Good luck my friend… And remember, the rewards that await you are worth the effort. I wouldn’t want to do anything else!

~ Pete Wotton