Also called: Quality Assurance Tester, Game Tester
Plays games before release to find and report bugs.
A QA tester might run into the same wall 200 times to reproduce a bug, write a detailed report, and test the fix the next day. It's less 'playing games all day' and more careful detective work.
Approximate; often contract or hourly; some QA teams have unionized.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. No degree required; attention to detail.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Self-taught. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Game Design, Computer Science.
Growing slowly. Automated testing is growing.
High risk for 10 years. AI bots and automated testing now find many bugs, cutting entry QA jobs; complex feel and edge cases still need people.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to game QA firms (Keywords, PTW, Lionbridge) or studios for tester jobs; no degree needed
Classes: Computer applications, English (clear writing), Math, AP Computer Science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1253.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.