Working in the video games industry?

Quality Assurance testers need a variety of tech support and documentation skills. Programming and management skills can also be helpful, as well as an attention to detail. There isn't a required set of skills, but those are some attributes that employers look for when hiring testers. QA Testing doesn't require a college degree, but companies definitely prefer candidates with a degree over those that don't. Regardless of what you may see from advertisements promising game testing jobs - You don't have to be good at playing video games and you certainly cannot work from home. If you want to know more about QA testing, check out my first link below, which covers the role of Quality Assurance. My second link is to an index of Breaking into the Game Industry articles that cover several different positions within the game industry and various tips and advice on landing a job at a game company. Good luck.

Game testing demands the same qualities and dedication as any other software testing role. You'll need to understand the process of software testing, technology behind the games, how to write good bug reports, working as part of a team, etc, etc. The ability to play the games is only one small part of being a good games tester. If you have no experience in the domain of software testing then I would recommend starting out on some of the testing crowd sourcing sites (e.g. utest.com and usertesting.com). These crowd sourcing sites won't pay you much but you'll learn a lot and get some valuable experience under your belt.