If you’re asking Santa for stuff this Christmas, you mightwant to put your dream job on the list instead. For many of us that job would include getting paid to play. As the gaming industry grows, so do theopportunities to make money playing video games.
Here’s a quick look at 5 jobs to get your gaming careergoing:
Gold Farmer – Although it sounds glamorous gold farming is the most menial task a paid gamer can perform. By spending countless hours accumulating in-game currency in Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs)you can eventually sell your stash to gamers who prefer to pay for instant gratification. The pay out for the time in is well below minimum wage though. On average 10+ hour days will only net about $40 a week. But if you’re playing anyway why not put a little more cash in your pocket.
Game Tester –Someone has to make sure the game works well when it hits the shelf. Gaming corporations outsource beta testing to independent quality control companies that hire people to play. It can be a dream job come true especially in terms of the swag and perks but it can be a bummer that you don’t get to choose what you play. When you get your games it’s not a can-you-beat-the-game objective but the goal isto find everything that could possibly go wrong. For example, you have to make sure characters can’t slip into holes in the setting somewhere. Depending on your level of seniority, game testers can take home $23,000 - $30,000 each year.
Cash Tournament Player– Keep your eyes and ears open for cash tournaments in your community or farther if you don’t mind traveling. Players pay a fee to enter and winners split the pot after the organizers and venue are paid. Most of these tournaments revolve around fighting style games and offer world-class players a chance to prepare. Keep in mind this rarely is a full time gig and the bigger the prize the tougher the competition. So spend your entry fees wisely. In the biggest Street Fighter Tournament last year 300 entrants anted up $15 a piece to have a chance to play for the prize. In the end the winner walked away with $2,850 which was 60% of the total pot.
FAQ Writer/Blogger –This is not the way to get rich quick. FAQ writers master game titles for which users request more info then produce a first person guide to the game of professional quality to earn $30 from GameFAQs.com. Other options include starting your own review blog like Angry Video Game Nerd (be warned he’s really angry and uses foul language). From there you can sell GoogleAd space to advertisers and branded merchandise to fans.
Pro Gamer – If you’re willing to put in about 12 hours of practice a day and can click a mouse at least 300 times per minute, you might have what it takes to go pro with your gaming passion. That is if you don’t mind moving to South Korea where they have the most active and highest paid gaming circuit called Starleagues. Top players can bank over $35,000 dollars in one tournament if they can come out on top.
If these jobs sound good to you, stream the movie “The Wizard”or search for Chasing Shadows for 2 different takes on being the best in the biz.
If you were a game tester and could only play one title a year what game would you hope they chose for you?
By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer with experience in web, film, photography and animation as well as traditional fine arts like painting and sculpting. In addition to writing for Nexxt, she is co-founder of design and promotion company. Heather’s spare time consists of making puppets, teaching Sunday School, building Legos and doing science experiments with her children.
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