Job in QA Testing

Chryssyxx · 05-31-2008, 12:19 PM

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if I could get some help in preparing for a job in QA Testing. I will be actively searching for a position within the near future and I was hoping to get some advice on what I can do to prepare myself for this entry-level opportunity.

I have achieved a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, a diploma in Entrepreneurship and am now taking an associate certificate course in Software Development to bring my programming skills up to intermediate, as well learn more about the development process. I completely understand that this certificate will not enable me for a programming position, but I would love to one day become a producer over the long-term. I am fully aware that a Tester can be very difficult and monotonous but I believe this is an excellent option for what I want to do. Also, I, of course, am a gamer as NES debuted the year I was born and I still love playing.

I have been a fan of this site over the past year, as well as researching other suggestions I read on these forums, such as Sloperama. What other activities or prep can I do to make myself a top candidate for a QA position?

I appreciate all feedback. Thanks!

--
Chris

yaustar · 05-31-2008, 12:28 PM

Read these threads:
http://www.igda.org/Forums/showthrea...threadid=30441
http://igda.org/Forums/showthread.php?threadid=30396

Chryssyxx · 05-31-2008, 01:04 PM

Thanks for the quick response!

Also, please check out my Online Portfolio as it pertains to my working history and so on. Thanks!

http://www.freewebs.com/chrisportfolio

jshockley · 06-01-2008, 02:56 PM

It doesn't really take anything but an enjoyment of games to be a tester. If you're a pretty cool guy that helps, don't be a jerk or overconfident in your interview.

DjWeston · 06-06-2008, 01:09 PM

I don't have any professional experience in QA, but as i'm searching for a job in the same field I thought I'd share my experience and resources with you. At the moment i'm actively testing two games from both acquaintances on this website and students I have a few classes with at UAT (University of Advancing Technology). I mention this because it's good to visit mod oriented websites and other design oriented sites to find teams that are releasing new mods and games. I've seen quite a few modders ask for some freelance QA help or you can offer to test their game of course. Watching these sites has been pretty key to my involvement in QA so far. Google around for really active mod communities and you'll find some games have huge opportunities like Starcraft, Diablo, Half-Life and others. My second suggestion is to take part in live betas (or closed beta preferrably although they can sometimes be harder to get into) of professional games being released. MMO's are the easiest and most available in my experience so far. It's not exactly QA work in some aspects but as I was told it will help when listed on a resume. Unfortunately, all QA work I have ever seen aside from mod work and student projects has been on site. This means that if you don't live in the same area as the developer/producer then you'll be out of luck. I'm actually moving to another state just to have more access to such jobs. Anyways, I put together a small list of websites at the end of this post that I've used to start testing mods, student projects, and betas. I hope it's of some help to you.

http://www.moddb.com/
http://betawatcher.com
http://fileplanet.com
and of course Gamecareerguide.com which you have already found!

jillduffy · 06-09-2008, 10:53 AM

If you're interested in QA jobs...

Tomorrow (June 10, 2008) there's going to be a book review on this site, and while it isn't a great book for everything it covers, it has a stellar explanation of QA: what it is, what precise things you will do as a QA tester, how much money you can expect to make, what the working conditions may be like, and so forth.

The book is Video Game Careers. See the full review tomorrow.

Chryssyxx · 11-12-2008, 07:42 PM

Hey everyone,

First off I'd like to thank GCG for having this site and for all who post and help others grow towards their goals in life.

I thought I would give everyone an update on my status.

I have been hired as a QA Tester for a respectable team in Development QA where my career has now begun. My advice to others out there who are like me and were looking for the best path into the industry I do believe that QA is probably the best bet. I have a degree in Business Admin but no special gaming degree but I was able to get hired and skip some of those Publisher Farms (where from what I hear people aren't always treated with respect).

What anyone should do is enlighten themselves, ask questions or look on forums to see if someone else has had the same thoughts as you. Forums are a great way to learn many things. Tom Sloper's Sloperama.com is a big help as well as I was able to walk into a QA interview with no experience and detail what an A, B, C, D bugs were as well as define NAB, WNF and so on. If you don't know what these terms mean and hope to get into QA, find out. The fact that I had prepared myself well for the interview went a long way to impress.

Also, I am currently taking night courses for Applied Software Development to help me on the way to becoming a Mission Scripter. The fact that I was looking to get past QA is very interesting to an employer because they can see longevity.

One more thing, I never was asked those pesky How To Use a Telephone questions... but I was given a few scenarios. For example:

Q: If you went into a building when it was light outside, did some stuff, left the building and it should now be night but it is still sunny.. explain in a summary.

(Don't give a run-on sentence - Give the coder what they want!_

A: Scripting - Time of Day - After leaving building A the sky is still sunny when it should be nighttime. (something to that effect).

I hope that helps some people as a lot of people on here helped me.

Cheers!

--
Chris

nathan3011 · 12-15-2008, 02:59 AM

Thanks for that i was looking for the information that i may be asked if i went for an interview for a job in this sector and i will certainly look up those terms and find out what Public Liability Insurance means so that i can be better prepared for the questions they will ask me

awesome guys thanks for the help :>

Zooch · 12-17-2008, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Q: If you went into a building when it was light outside, did some stuff, left the building and it should now be night but it is still sunny.. explain in a summary.

A: I worked through the night. We get paid time-and-a-half here right?

But seriously, congrats on getting the job. It's really nice to see you came back and posted your experiences too. Thanks for that.

Imperitor · 12-22-2008, 02:55 AM

I congratulate you on getting the job and I humbly ask you to go into further detail about the whole interviewing and hiring process. Also, did you have to move for this job or was it local?