Football Manager QA Boss CJ Reveals How He Turned A Love Of Gaming Into A Career Testing The Beautiful Game

From the touchline to the test lab

Ever wondered who makes sure your football video games actually work? On Football Manager, one of the world's biggest football simulations, that job falls to CJ — an associate quality assurance manager whose team tests the game to make sure everything works and collaborates with developers to build the most realistic simulation of the sport possible.

"Working on one of the world's biggest football video games is the perfect combination of my two biggest passions – gaming and football!" he said.

A winding road into the industry

CJ's route into gaming was anything but a straight line. He grew up loving football and gaming, and while he realised he probably wasn't going to become a professional footballer, he was determined to find other opportunities within the game.

He studied Sports Science at college, discovered a love of coaching, and completed his FA coaching qualifications — FA Level 1 and FA Level 2. He then gained experience in an unpaid role at Arsenal developing his coaching skills, before landing a full-time paid job at Fulham Football Club working with their youth teams.

The turning point came at a networking event organised by Kick It Out — the organisation that tackles discrimination in sport — where he found out about opportunities at Football Manager. He joined the studio, finally combining his two passions.

Climbing the QA ladder

CJ works in the QA (Quality Assurance) team, testing games, and says there are lots of different ways to progress in the gaming industry. Within his own team, his career has followed a clear path: QA tester to QA lead to QA manager.

But QA is just one option. "There are lots of other roles within the industry too, including production, game design, social media and development, where developers help to code the game," he explained. "Depending on your skills and interests, there are different pathways you can take that you might enjoy and be suited to."

What the job pays

Salaries in game testing vary widely depending on the role and the company, according to CJ. "They can range from around £20,000 to £50,000 and upwards," he said, with the higher end of that range typically applying once you have gained more experience and progressed in your career.

For the role of computer games tester specifically — which can also be advertised as games tester or video games tester — the average salary runs from £24,000 to £36,000 per year, with typical working hours of 37 to 42 hours per week.

How to break in

There is no single qualification required to become a computer games tester. You could get into the role via a university course, a college course (such as a Level 3 Diploma in Creative Media, an A-level in Computing, or a T-level in Digital Software Development in England only), an apprenticeship, or by applying directly if you have relevant experience.

CJ's own top tips for getting into video game testing are simple: follow your passion, hone your eye for detail, and work well with others.

"If you're passionate about a particular game or video games in general, that will help you along the way," he said. "Attention to detail is key so you can spot where the problems are in games and think about how to fix them."

And teamwork, he stresses, matters just as much: "You're always going to be working as part of a team, whether that's with developers, QA or the social team. Being open to working with different people and taking on new ideas will get you a long way."

Finding out more

The guidance comes as part of Bitesize Careers' Follow Your Passion campaign, run in partnership with The Open University, which explores how people can draw on their interests to find future jobs. This information is a guide and is constantly changing — students are advised to check the National Careers Service website for the latest details and qualifications, and GOV.UK for more on T-levels. Careers advice is available across the UK via the National Careers Service (England), nidirect (Northern Ireland), My World of Work (Scotland) and Careers Wales (Wales).