Playing video games to earn a living makes you think this is the ideal job. People who witnessed the rise of computer gaming in the late 1980s to early 1990s probably dreamed of having a gaming test track. Who doesn't long for a job that compensates for personal pleasure?

Almost everyone loves video games. 

The days of video games limited to clunky consoles that couldn't be taken on a plane trip or whatever are long gone. When people choose to play games, they use portable gaming devices like PSP Vita or Android smartphones or tablets.

With video games competing with so many other types of personal entertainment, a freemium model is now widely used in PC games and mobile gaming, which has given video games a boost. This is great news for those aspiring to become video game professionals and willing to do whatever it takes to secure their place in the industry. One of the fastest ways to gain a foothold in the video game industry is to apply for a quality assurance (game testing) position.

It is important to note that those testing a game are always separated from the team coding or programming the game itself. Therefore, the debugging phase is performed by quality assurance testers (game testers).

Furthermore, game testers from companies and game studios are tasked with regularly presenting bug reports. For example, if you're testing a game and only submitted a few bug reports for all the months in the company, don't expect superiors to give rave reviews.

Since communication with the programming department is in writing, excellent written communication skills are required. Without good writing skills, one will not thrive or survive in this field.

It is important to remember that game testers are not very special in video game production. The reason is that there are a plethora of potential testers, and if one leaves, the other will quickly fill the void. So if progress is desired, one must demonstrate above-average or better game testing ability for superiors.

Here are the hard facts:

1. 1. survival skills. Surviving in the field of professional quality assurance testing (game testing) requires competence that can be acquired through formal training (on-the-job training) and continuous experience.
      
      The most important thing when playing video games is experience. However, it is not the very last of game testing. It is just a small aspect that will help perform a game tester task.

1. 1. Most important asset. The most important purchase of a game tester is performing on the job. How good is someone at spotting bugs in newly developed games? You can't surprise leading game testers and quality managers by simply telling them you were a programming talent when you were 15. However true this may be.
      
      The effectiveness of game testers lies in discovering the bugs that can arise from many combinations that exist within specific game segments.
      
      A tester is not assigned the entire game but only a specific segment to discover bugs. This is when the effectiveness of the tester is examined.

1. 1. Be prepared. Being prepared will greatly increase the chances of being hired. To get proof of time spent and monetary investment, one must enroll in courses before signing up for a game testing position. You can't tell employers that they are well versed in in-game testing through reading. Interviewers will not accept this as an experience and go home with a broken heart. It is important to be aware of that now, to prepare for what is to come. It's not easy to get in, but it's not impossible either.

1. Professional and passionate. One will have to demonstrate professional achievements and an extreme passion for video games to superiors. This will enable one to rise above the average game testers.