Did you ever wanted to play a game before it came out? No? Then you're probably playing the wii.
Did you want to make a living play testing video games? Yes? Then prepare yourself for some two-tailing action from misery and poverty.
Beta testing is usually after alpha testing when the product and program has already been internally testing. Usually in a beta test, the product is thrown to the wilds for the consumers to give a more realistic test of the product. It is unlikely that the test will force any changes. The best use for beta testing is to test multi-player servers in video games and to test the stress levels of those servers.
So why is being a professional beta tester so bad? Well for one thing, you aren't playing these games for fun, you are playing these games to look for bugs. So that means repeating very minute and trivial things multiple times to see if the game breaks or explodes. Also, you are working with a very early build of the game. This means you don't get cool death animations, crazy explosions, pumping electronic music or even voice acting. It's a lonely and soulless position to be in when you're a "true" beta tester.
Morrison, B. (n.d.). Gamasutra: Brice Morrison's Blog - The Truth about Being a Beta Tester. Gamasutra Article. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BriceMorrison/20130514/192197/The_Truth_about_Being_a_Beta_Tester.php
Centercode for Video Game Betas. (n.d.).Centercode Beta Blog. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from http://www.centercode.com/beta/types/games/
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