One of the most commonly chosen career choices by young gamers is of course to be a video games tester. However, most people looking at testing games as a career path are blissfully oblivious to the hard work it can entail. How the question is, how much can you really earn as a games tester and is it worth it?

A common and idealistic misconception about game testing is that the tester will do little else other than playing games 24/7. Whilst there can be no denying that this is a part of the process, it is by no means the only part of the puzzle.

First and foremost, it is an often tedious and dull affair and one that involves no shortage of hard work, in fact, you can rest assured that for every 15 minutes of game play you will probably have to spend the next half hour writing up a report on the bugs you unearth during the process. You will need to be thorough and meticulous both in your quest for bugs and glitches as well as in the actual recording of them.

The tester will also need to ensure that they record and note their findings carefully in order to then pass on the relevant details to the game development department who will then seek to remove the bugs and fix the errors. The tester will need to be very explicit and thorough as to the level of detail they submit, in order to help expedite the process.

Now that we have cleared up the issue of what a video game tester will actually involve, the next burning issue that we will need to look at is the issue of pay, i.e. how much money does the average tester get for their efforts?

There are a number of variables and factors to consider whenever trying to gauge how much in wages you will earn for video game testing, and some factors will weigh more heavily and importantly than the others. Without fail, one of the biggest factors to consider is the actual level of experience that the tester has, and this is both to the issue of seniority as well as passive skills such as proficiency in report writing and error spotting. There is a common mistake that a game tester must limit themselves to a single company, in truth, there is plenty of work to go around and so many testers will supplement their income by doing freelance work with various bodies and groups.

Download the free report How To Become A Games Tester and learn how to break into the games industry without a computer science degree. For free Flash game visit Kwikgames.com

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