how can i become a game tester? - Grandma's Boy (2006) Discussion

[–] sedativchunk 17 years ago

Hey man, don't waste your time. Video game testers are are highly underpaid and it's not really all that fun. In reality, you will end up testing crappy games that are very boring and you will have to play the **** out of them until your hands fall off and there are no glitches in a game that cause it to crash or ruin a game system.

Take my advice and get into actual game programming if you are that hardcore into games. I started learning to code websites when I was 16 and it eventually got me into server side programming and now computer programming, which deals with games!

You are much more likely to make a good buck off of being a programmer then testing crappy games!

reply

[–] iLikeTurtle 16 years ago

yeah i would rather do that but i suck hardcore at math and all the algorithms for everything. so it would be like impossible for me to program a game lol. ahh well ill still try something in the gaming category when im older, i just want to be a tester right now because im in HS. thanks for the answer!(no sarcasm)

reply

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] king_of_bob 15 years ago

Outside of school, calculators are always allowed. Don't worry about poor math skills.

Prof. Farnsworth: Oh. A lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!

reply

[–] rainofwalrus 16 years ago

good waiters make more money than software testers. it's a fact.

take pleasure in how far you've come

reply

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rainofwalrus 16 years ago

OP said he wanted to make big bucks. He wont make big bucks QAing videogame software.

noone wants to hear what you dreamt about unless you dreamt about... them

reply

[–] MarcusTCicero 16 years ago

I'm a "software tester" and I'll have to say that you're wrong.

reply

[–] rainofwalrus 16 years ago

MarcusTCicero, good waiters can make about $50 per hour (more in Vegas/LA/NYC)! coders can make that much, but not testers/QA.

I've been to conferences in Vegas where our tip was over $50 -- cash. And he had 3 tables including us. you do the math.

I'd be very surprised if you, game-tester, made >$25 per hour.

cold enough world without getting gone against by your own.

reply

[–] MarcusTCicero 16 years ago

No I'm not a game tester. I guess by 'software tester' you actually meant 'game tester'.

I'll allow you to make that distinction before I rip into your original post.

reply

[–] rainofwalrus 16 years ago

yes. my mistake. game software testers.

missile-tracking software testers can make >100k per year--easy. government contract/consulting (silly villains).

cold enough world without getting gone against by your own.

reply

[–] MarcusTCicero 16 years ago

So can billing software 'testers'. ;)

Let me help you - the correct term is SQA (Software Quality Assurance) not 'software tester'. And sorry to inform you but typical waiters don't make $100K. I bet there's less than 500 waiters in the whole country making that much and the rest are earning $40K or less. I've been in SQA for 10 years and I'm familiar with the pay scale for software R&D. I don't know anyone who is willing to work in SQA for less than $75K per year (full-time, salary, not including benefits). And that's Texas money - so it would be higher in CA, NY, etc. FWIW most 'coders' (as you call them) won't get out of bed in the morning for $50/hr.

Your Vegas waiter argument:
1. Waiters have to share their TIPs with cooks, hosts, etc. Your Vegas waiter didn't pocket all of that $50 you left him.

2. A waiter's pay is subjective upon many things - weather, time of year, IS THERE A CONFERENCE IN TOWN, Soup of the Day, etc.

3. A Vegas waiter or any other Vegas Hospitality job is not typical by any means. You're not going go out and earn $75K as a waiter in Houston, but earning that much as an SQA is a reasonable goal.

4. Show me a waiter who gets 2 weeks paid vacation per year + paid sick days, etc. You have to figure benefits into the equation.

And last, you don't tell a kid to give up his hopes of working in the gaming/software industry to go be a waiter. Not that there's anything wrong with being a waiter.

reply

[–] rainofwalrus 16 years ago

look at the big brain on brad.

cold enough world without getting gone against by your own.

reply

[–] Winter010 14 years ago

Check out the big brain on Brad...

reply

[–] vermin2005 16 years ago

Study game art/design. Game testing is a mind numbing job, thus why they smoked a lot of weed in this movie.

Insubordination Rules!
"Puma-Man: He flies like a moron!"
"I'm only burning my half."

reply

[–] sanctuary_thirteen 16 years ago

Do like I did: Open your own video game store, with a backroom with a bong.

reply

[–] vermin2005 16 years ago

there is also that route

Insubordination Rules!
"Puma-Man: He flies like a moron!"
"I'm only burning my half."

reply

[–] soulflyhigh 16 years ago

No money big bucks in game testing. Contact game developers, or sometimes they place adds, found one for Sega Europe when I was living in London. The pay was quite low per hour though and only on average 16 hours per week (not guaranteed), so even if I got accepted I wouldn't have been able to afford living on those wages.

reply

[–] Chuck_Zombie 16 years ago

just for reference to everyone who reads this....that is a scam.

A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have.

reply

[–] sandrock41 13 years ago

I work at a big game developer/publisher and real life isn't as cool as grandmas boy. It's a fun atmosphere but its not as laid back as this movie would have you believe.

reply

[–] hatsAreForLosers 13 years ago

What the others tell you about being a tester is true. Low pay, long hours, and instead of playing the game you are really doing fun stuff like running into every wall in the level to make sure the bounding boxes are there!

That being said, it IS a good way to get your foot in the door and can eventually lead to a more lucrative job in the industry

reply

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Gdub33 13 years ago

Testing games is horrible. The repetition involved is mind numbing.

Study game design or coding in College.

My video game design class was my favorite College class ever. I must have spent 100+ hours designing my game and got 100% on it.

Blender is a great free way to play around with game design and to see if you love it like I do. Check it out.

-
S you in your A's Don't wear a C and J all over your B's

reply