I knew I wanted to make video games.
I was at the end of my abortive "stint" at university. I was there for a long time, but alas, I finished without graduating. I knocked about for a couple of years, doing some ok jobs but nothing that would give me career satisfaction.
Plus, I still had the itch to make video games.
Could game testing be my "in"?
All those hours of playing games might've been helpful after all!
I applied to game testing role after game testing role. Sadly nothing was successful. Then I had an idea - why didn't I leverage my customer service experience to get a job at a games company. Once I had my foot in the door, I could figure out how to make the next step!
So that's what I did!
A spot opens up in the test department.
It's funny how things work out sometimes.
So I landed my first job at a games company in the tech support department. My initial move came about thanks to my friend Malcolm. He had landed a spot on a prestigious animation course and was off to pursue his dreams of making films (which he has absolutely smashed, in my opinion). He told me he was about to resign from his testing position and that I should immediately go and claim his spot.
So that's what I did!
You mean I can make a career out of this?!
You don't know what you don't know!
It turns out that everything I liked about games design applied to software testing too. I got to work with smart people, using innovative technology to solve problems for customers. Plus, I could make an excellent living at the same time. Since then, software testing has taken me all over the world.
If you told me that would be my future when I left university without a qualification, I wouldn't have believed you!