Finding Legitimate Video Game Tester Opportunities
For some people, being a video game tester sounds like a dream job. It all seems so easy, especially when online ads tell you that you can get a job as a tester in your area and make money playing video games all day long. The problem, of course, is that very few of these advertised positions are legitimate and some are even outright scams. So how do you tell a legitimate video game tester opportunity from a fake one?
The first thing that you need to look at is whether it will cost you anything to become a video game tester. If there’s any cost involved then the opportunity isn’t legitimate; real companies that have a sincere interest in finding people to test their games aren’t going to charge people for that opportunity. Places that charge for video game testing opportunities are simply trying to sell you something; in many cases that “something” is simply a list of companies that hire video game testers or access to a website where they keep track of video game companies. Few if any of these “opportunities” result in actual work as a video game tester.
Of course, the opposite can be a sign of a scam as well. If you see a listing looking for a video game tester that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Listings for game testers that make claims of outrageous income potential or that make the job seem unbelievably easy often use bait-and-switch techniques to lure in unsuspecting individuals and then offer to sell them lists or website access as mentioned above. In some cases the truth is even worse than that, with actual scammers trying to use various types of fraud to steal hundreds if not thousands of dollars from would-be testers.
This doesn’t mean that there are no legitimate video game tester opportunities, of course. Many companies hire and manage their own testers directly, so you can check
employment opportunities listed on the company’s website to see if there are any testing positions available. Some companies do contract their testing through third-party firms, of course, though these firms are often much more realistic with their job descriptions when placing ads or posting listings seeking video game testers.
One thing to keep in mind when looking for video game tester jobs is that you will be required to sign contracts and non-disclosure agreements that prevent you from talking about the games that you test, and you may be required to do some or all of the testing in local offices instead of from home. Most likely you won’t be able to pick and choose the games you play since companies only test the games that are nearing the end of development. You will also have to spend a significant amount of time searching for glitches and bugs, documenting the ones that you find and testing them again to see if you can replicate them. The role of a video game tester is typically more involved than people many people think since it’s your job to help the development team to deliver a quality game that’s devoid of bugs.
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