Can't get a job? What are you waiting for?

but then we gotta move to California...

Given a choice between doing QA during night shift (again) and stabbing myself in the eye with my official Ian Hewitson barbecue cooking tongs...HAND ME THE BIG MEAT STABBERS HEWIE!!

night testing... man.. for blizzard you say ??... arduous work - soon enough whoever lands that job will be finding there vocabulary changing... replacing acknowledgements words and phrases like 'yes' and 'okay sure thing' - with 'zug-zug'.

or something like 'Garboo'
Yeah I forget what it was but I was reading something saying that testing is really hard work, repetitive and all that!

quote:Originally posted by Gazunta

Given a choice between doing QA during night shift (again) and stabbing myself in the eye with my official Ian Hewitson barbecue cooking tongs...HAND ME THE BIG MEAT STABBERS HEWIE!!

Yeah, but it did put you in a position where you could move into development didn't it? The way I see it if you get into QA - as shitty as the job can be - at least you're IN the company and it's much easier to get your talents noticed.

"official Ian Hewitson barbecue cooking tongs"

hahaha, yeah i've got a pair of those. *cough*

Oh, don't get me wrong - I honestly loved QA. It is hard work, and it can be repetitive, but I knew that going in. (That's where I think a lot of the complaints from other people about working in QA come from - people who thought the role was easier / more fun than the reality and so get disillusioned - I knew what it was from the start)

But that doesn't change that night shift was a bugger. :) (Though I found it easier to get work done)

Heck, if I had to, I'd have no problems doing QA again.*

And yeah folks as Steve said, working QA is a huge, huge, huge, HUGE help to get noticed around whatever company you're in. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for my experience as QA tester and then lead. Anyone who thinks QA is beneath them is locking themselves out of so many opportunities. I think working in QA (and believe me, it really is work) makes you a better designer / producer / artist / musician / you name it. So many people I know started in QA, and I have all the more respect for them because of that.

- gazunta

* note to steve: not any time soon though :)

where abouts do you work gazunta ?

At my desk, usually sitting in my chair.

And now for the non-smart ass response: Krome Studios.

oh me to,.. thats great :D

That's exactly the position I would love to start at and work my way up: QA Tester.

I've been trying to speak the Michael Crimmins about my resume and if he can offer any improvements on it, however I've yet to recieve a reply. Whether he's been really really busy with the combination of their mail servers having a fit, I'd love to work for Krome Studios in any way, shape or form.

Btw, Gazunta and HazarD, does Robert "Bob" Buttersworth still work at Krome?

lol morphine i dont work at krome - i do work from my desk / sitting at my chair tho [;)]

You lied to me!!! BOOOO! [:D]

Me too, sit at home, working on my own work. Quite boring actually [:p]

i love it man - gives me lots of time to focus on building my skills. i can design what i want , build it make it happen / teach myself with the help of others. To a level where i get good enough to take on the role as a junior in a company :D

I guess so, but I'd rather be working on something that I'd be getting paid for [8D]

However, it is good because you can work on your own work and see what other people think of it (eg. Exhibition Discussion). Right now I'm getting together some reference pics to add to my Orc Engineer concept pic. I've released I should have gotten a bigger sized piece of paper instead of my A4 art book [:(!]

quote:Originally posted by matias

Yeah I forget what it was but I was reading something saying that testing is really hard work, repetitive and all that!

Hehe, yeah it is. One of our Testers on Generals said this about testing.

quote:Picture you work for disneyland and your job was to make sure the rides work. Your specific job is "Its a Small World." Now picture riding the boat for 8 hours straight, in "It's a small world," and it's broken in "German Town!" That's alot like being in Test.

For those that don't know, "Its a small world" is a 15 minute ride with the song being sung over, and over, and over, and....

Personally you would never catch me doing a test job. I mean, your sole job is to tell someone who's been working 3 days straight, no sleep, extremely stressed, that the thing they just put in, doesn't work. Heh, it's a very stressful, not appreciative position.

All though, I do have to say, Blizzard does treat their testers okay (pay a little less, but they do give bonuses).

Any developer (individual, not company) who doesn't appreciate testers, is (honestly) a moron.

Testers are your first line of defence. Your safety net. They're the ones who take over when you _think_ you've tested something enough. This is particularly true if they're internal, and they spot those really nasty bugs in the latest build don't go all the way through to the publisher.

Sure, testers will raise all sorts of crazy issues, and often be unsure as to what state a certain component of the game should be in ("yeah, it will look like that until component X is complete"), but it's not their job to know this stuff.

Repect your testers.

cheers

quote:Sure, testers will raise all sorts of crazy issues, and often be unsure as to what state a certain component of the game should be in ("yeah, it will look like that until component X is complete"), but it's not their job to know this stuff.

IMO, Wrong. It is part of their job to know this stuff, what use is telling the developers something they already know?
However! It is the developers (probably the leads or producer) to TELL the testers what state various components are in. If the developers don't do their job correctly, the testers can't be expected to perform to their best ability and it slows everyone down (with bogus bug reports etc.).
This is where good bug tracking software, used properly, can ber very beneficial. The logs can also provide an interesting timeline of the project :)
CYer, Blitz

Exactly, there must be clear communication between the leads/team and the testers. The point i am making is that it is their job to test, not to know what state every component is in.

Being able to keep tabs on the state of all aspects of the game, AS WELL AS provide solid testing is what sets apart a great testers (lead tester?).

cheers

This whole thing about QA testers may be something i'll keep in mind when looking for somewhere to start with work experience.