If you listen to the radio, you may have heard a commercial advertising a popular job search site. The ad features a moronic guy who calls looking for a job and starts shooting off all the video games he’s mastered when the interviewer asks for his experience. Well, guess what? It seems that the joke is on them. You can actually find game tester jobs online and make money doing it. If this is your dream job, here’s some of the best ways to break into the industry.

At a most basic level, you become an independent game tester. You are doing all the footwork to find game tester jobs online. The games are purchased out of your own pocket and you write and publish the reviews yourself. The most successful independent game testers have their own blog and know how to promote it. This is extremely important as your income stream relies directly on the amount of readers or “hits” your blog receives. Network your blog on other blogs and message boards. Also, make sure the content is well written, understandable and updated frequently.

The next step up when you find game tester jobs online is to solicit the video game manufacturers. The odds of you getting a gig like this with no prior experience are slim to none. Don’t apply unless you know someone in the company or you have a successful blog to show the developer. Even then, it will be extremely important that be intelligent and reliable. While almost anyone can play a video game, not everyone can write a well thought out review. Being skilled with the console will not be enough. This job is a pretty sweet spot. You still get to work at home on your own schedule. The company will supply the games for you to test and you will provide feedback for compensation. They may ask you to publish the review on your site or they may want exclusive rights of distribution. Also, it’s quite likely that you will testing for bugs or reviewing products before they are released to the general public.

Finally, with enough experience, it’s possible to be hired by a company as an in house game tester. You don’t just go out and find game tester jobs online that are this great. You generally need a track record with the company or industry in order to be considered for these positions. However, if you spend the time building your resume and proving your worth, you may just have a shot!