It all depends on what the average pay is!
How Much Money Can You Make Being A Game Tester?
Here's a detailed answer for you. Hope it helps
What young gamer didn't dream of being a video game tester at some point in his life? The idea of playing Mario or Starcraft or Half-Life all day must have sounded like a dream come true. The reality of game testing is very different. Often involving repetitive tasks and high turnover rates, making money as a full-time game tester can be a difficult proposition. There are many factors that go into how a game tester is paid. Here are just a few.
The Goal
There are a number of factors that go into working as a game tester. While the basic system seems to be a two-part process---play games and repeat---the reality of the job is typically very different. In some ways, the reality is more repetitive, while in others it is more varied. Since the goal of game testing is discovering bugs and analyzing the conditions that produce them, game testing relies on repetition of scenarios. Input into design aspects of the game are not typically expected or desired.
Hours
A strong determining factor in the pay earned by video game testers are the hours worked. While a 40-hour work week may be seem intense in most fields, it's peanuts in the realm of game testing. Particularly in the rush to finish games, a video game tester can be expected to work 60, 80 even 100 hours in a final week. Of course, this produces immense opportunities for overtime pay. Unfortunately, the glut of work at the end of a game's development indicates the opposite problem: Not enough work. Many game testers only receive work during certain parts of a game's development rather than a steady gig throughout.
Non-Game Work
A game tester is often asked to write detailed reports on bugs and glitches discovered. Pay can even be determined by the number of bug reports produced, meaning that the job can be just as much about writing as it is about playing video games. Additionally, game testers are often used to test hardware, such as pressing a single button over and over or unplugging plugging in a controller to gauge the reaction of the hardware and software.
Beginning Compensation
Even with all the above considerations in mind, a video game tester can receive wildly different compensation, depending upon experience and position within the company. Entry-level video game testers are typically paid by the hour, usually $10 to $12. Younger gamers may even be paid less. Finally, being a video game tester for that long may open up an opportunity to being a testing manager, which has a prominent position in the company with pay as high as $75,000.
Advancement
Three to six years' experience will typically accrue the reputation to be considered a professional game tester, rather than a young dabble who thinks it would be fun to play video games all day. Such experience can produce monetary boosts. Some experienced video game testers make over $40,000 a year.
Management Opportunities
Not many people have the stamina, but every once in a while someone continues to test video games for years. Being a video game tester for that long may open up an opportunity to be a testing manager.
What young gamer didn't dream of being a video game tester at some point in his life? The idea of playing Mario or Starcraft or Half-Life all day must have sounded like a dream come true. The reality of game testing is very different. Often involving repetitive tasks and high turnover rates, making money as a full-time game tester can be a difficult proposition. There are many factors that go into how a game tester is paid. Here are just a few.
The Goal
There are a number of factors that go into working as a game tester. While the basic system seems to be a two-part process---play games and repeat---the reality of the job is typically very different. In some ways, the reality is more repetitive, while in others it is more varied. Since the goal of game testing is discovering bugs and analyzing the conditions that produce them, game testing relies on repetition of scenarios. Input into design aspects of the game are not typically expected or desired.
Hours
A strong determining factor in the pay earned by video game testers are the hours worked. While a 40-hour work week may be seem intense in most fields, it's peanuts in the realm of game testing. Particularly in the rush to finish games, a video game tester can be expected to work 60, 80 even 100 hours in a final week. Of course, this produces immense opportunities for overtime pay. Unfortunately, the glut of work at the end of a game's development indicates the opposite problem: Not enough work. Many game testers only receive work during certain parts of a game's development rather than a steady gig throughout.
Non-Game Work
A game tester is often asked to write detailed reports on bugs and glitches discovered. Pay can even be determined by the number of bug reports produced, meaning that the job can be just as much about writing as it is about playing video games. Additionally, game testers are often used to test hardware, such as pressing a single button over and over or unplugging plugging in a controller to gauge the reaction of the hardware and software.
Beginning Compensation
Even with all the above considerations in mind, a video game tester can receive wildly different compensation, depending upon experience and position within the company. Entry-level video game testers are typically paid by the hour, usually $10 to $12. Younger gamers may even be paid less. Finally, being a video game tester for that long may open up an opportunity to being a testing manager, which has a prominent position in the company with pay as high as $75,000.
Advancement
Three to six years' experience will typically accrue the reputation to be considered a professional game tester, rather than a young dabble who thinks it would be fun to play video games all day. Such experience can produce monetary boosts. Some experienced video game testers make over $40,000 a year.
Management Opportunities
Not many people have the stamina, but every once in a while someone continues to test video games for years. Being a video game tester for that long may open up an opportunity to be a testing manager.
