Do you think game testing is a good way to make $?

Hi Yung!

There's a wide range of salaries in game testing. At the lowest level, you can expect to make about $25k a year, which is about half of what the current living wage is for San Francisco. Pay for game testing roles are often just above minimum wage. If you're able to move into a QA lead role, then you can get into the $45k area but that's still on the edge for cost of living in SF.

But game testing can also be the starting point for some people in the game industry. Many people have moved from game testing to other roles in games, which means much higher pay and better opportunities.

It might also be worth it to find small game testing gigs so you can see what some of the job is like. Here in Seattle, Microsoft often hosts game testing sessions and pays for your time in software. While it's not exactly the same as day-to-day job life, it'll give you some impression of what your duties will be as a game tester.

If you want to test games because you like playing games, it is a terrible idea. First, lots of people want to test games, and because of that it does not pay much money. Second, when you do get hired, you might get to test the new Call of Duty game, but you might also have to test the next My Little Pony Dream House game. You don't get to pick, you are stuck playing whatever you are assigned. Lastly, you don't really get to play the games as you might at home. Your job is to break the game which might mean running in a corner for 10 minutes or creating a hundred characters with every configuration.

With that in mind, if you love games, being a tester is a great way to get your foot into the gaming industry. With the experience and an education from a reputable school (not the ones that advertise on tv), you can become an artist, programmer, and eventually a producer or designer.