Connections, temp agencies, determination, knowledge, tolerance Connections: At most game companies I've worked for, at least fifty percent of the people who had no previous experience were hired because they had a friend or family working at the company. If you don't know anyone in the industry, then... Temp Agencies seem to work well, too. Particulary in California's San Francisco bay area, where most video game companies are located. Signing on with a temp agency will usually yield quicker results than sending your resume through a game company's web site, and in the meantime you can find other forms of employment through the agency. The majority of staff in most test departments are temps and for very long periods of time, so you probably won't have to worry about issues with the company trying to buy your contract from the agency. The turnover rate in testing is VERY high, and the likelihood of being made a permanent employee is a rare and magical thing. Many of the large companies simply herd their staff like cattle, then let 'em go after several months, or when the title they're working on ships. Determination One person I know actually sat in front of the Game Developer's Conference with a cardboard sign reading "Will Test For Food". It actually ended up working. Other times, I witnessed the same guy apply for a job at the company I worked for at least half a dozen times, and ended up working with him a year later. Knowledge Most companies require that you're computer literate, if not a power user of Windows or Mac operating systems (usually the former), are familiar with programs such as Word, Excel and know how to type relatively fast. Additionally, you usually need to have a sharp eye, a fanatical attention to detail, and good communication skills, both spoken and verbal. After all, how are you going to let the development team know what issues you've found in their product? Of course, I've known many people who managed to get jobs without many of these skills... they didn't last long, while others became sycophants and managed to hang on indefinitely. Most of all, you need to actually be good at games and have a high tolerance for sleep deprivation and megalomaniacal managers.

Having spent many years being a part of a gaming "clan" for the PC game, Age Of Empires, I also know that developers pay attention to who the best players are. We had one particular player who finished in the top 10 in a big worldwide tournament. That kind of notoriety obviosly has a few perks that goes along with it. However, since most of us will never have enough time in the day to become the expert gamers that these people are, I suggest you listen to Mr. Smith's advice.

There's a website called "Sloperama," which gives detailed instructions of how to become a game tester, the educational requirements for becoming one, etc. I have provided an excerpt for your persual, along the actual website urll, which is extremely detailed; hence, I gave this excerpt, but be sure and visit the website because it gives much more detailed information: "There are also independent testing labs who hire testers. A tester who works at one of these labs would have to quit in order to move up in the industry. It's recommended that if you want to work as a tester as a steppingstone to other jobs in the industry, that you work for a publisher or a developer, not an independent test lab. If you do not understand the difference between a publisher and a developer, see FAQ 28. If you want to volunteer as a beta tester, try hanging around at http://www.bluesnews.com and watching for announcements of public betas. I make no guarantees that you can get taken on if and when you respond to such announcements, but if you do, it might be helpful in getting a tester job later on (if you do an excellent job as a beta tester). " source: http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson5.htm I hope this helps to answer your question!

Not sure where you are from but in Australia a good way is to go to gaming conventions or look up gaming companies web sites and get there contact details and call them see if they need anyone and so on...