   The Truth about QA department
  Hi EveryoneI just got a job as a temp tester and all I hear is horror stories about how people work as a temp for years and never get anywhere.How true is this?  Do temps work as temps for 3 years before only stepping up to being a full time tester?  What about all those people who started as testers and moved up to programming/production/art departments.If anyone can shed some light on this (if you are still a temp after 8 years in the industry or if you rose up to lead designer, or anywhere in between) please respond and inform the masses that the dream can become a reality.**PS** I have an electrical engineering/computer engineering degree from UCLA, so if any programmers have made it to the big time, I would love to hear your adviceThanksPeter P 
  It's not what you know, but who you know.  Well sorta.  If you start in test, make sure people know your skills, especially when you talk with developers, but don't push it onto them.  Ask HR about open positions.I think for you coming with a background in engineering you should just program some demos and maybe try for entry level jobs instead.  Level scripting might be something you can easily do.  QA is rough.  I been in QA and never gotten anywhere.  Not that I was a bad tester, but it's more of timing.  My first game testing job, I was acutally going somewhere until they went ot of business .  Other time, I was given an interview to move up but was told they decided to cut down on head count.If you work for a major company with 100s of testers it might be tough.  It's best to work in small companies where you have an opportunity to step up and take more responsibilities.  Going the QA route seems best suited for producers, and game designers.  Normally IMO artist and programmers can get entry level jobs without fighting through the QA department.  This is just from my personal point of view.  I been in test for over 2yrs and worked in and out of the game industry, and the software industry.   John Online Arcade  [edited by - z3lda on May 22, 2004 3:17:33 AM];  The type of company is irrelevant. It's all about getting your foot in the door.   [edited by - Onikan on May 22, 2004 3:19:43 AM];  Thanks for your help.  As far as I can tell working at a company gives you the connections to be able to make a better demo.  I can have the artists focus on the art, while I focus on the programming/product management of the demo ;  If you are working for the company, why not just talk to the programmers about a programming job?  Your foot is in the door already.They may look down on you a bit for starting as a tester though as they are the natural enemies of programmers. 