For today’s post, we met with Justin Greenhouse working for Wired Talent at Sony Online Entertainment in San Diego, CA as a QA Tester. Justin is currently experiencing the common “crunch time” that QA Departments go through, working up to 60 + hours a week. In this time, the department undergoes lots of overtime to ensure the game meets the QA Expectations and Deadline. In response to the challenge of this period, Justin has decided to work towards a Matisyahu look alike contest. You’re almost there Justin, keep it up!

Actually, Justin is having a beard off with the crunch time, vowing not to shave until the crunch period is complete. Justin has a great attitude and work ethic, and adding a little fun is a great way to get yourself through these periods. In addition to growing manly beards, Justin likes to take his break at work with his old pal the Hoff (photo below):

WT: What is it really like being a QA Tester? Do you drink Mountain Dew and Play Games All Day? Are you thinking of getting metal legs?
JG: I spend most of my time growing beards, singing randomness all the damn time, and complaining about something to my coworkers while sipping any beverage containing caffeine. I had metal legs, but took them back after realizing I spend my entire day sitting down and don’t need legs at all! My torso is now permanently attached to my rolling chair.

In reality though, I don’t get to play games all day. I may be in the game, but I can typically accomplish the testing I need without physically moving my character around at all. I just type out commands to make him move and complete objectives… I guess it’s kinda playing, but I swear I get some work done.

WT: How did you get into the industry?
JG: I had a friend of a friend who used to work at SOE. He made me realize getting a job in the industry is actually possible! So I put together an incredible resume, slicked my hair back and gave a super incredible interview performance to land my position. I think being a social person who’s not afraid to speak his mind helped a lot.

WT: What is your most and least favorite part for the job?
JG: Amazingly, this can be summed up into one answer: Overtime!
I love it because it is often times hilarious, you get to hang out with cool people for even MORE hours every day/week/month/year, you make more money, it’s an amazing opportunity to grow a beard (you know it’s beautiful), and you finally get to realize what going completely insane is like.

On the other side, it’s exhausting and makes you wish for a day off here or there… if possible. I’d honestly say overtime is way more positive than it is negative, but you forced me to pick something to dislike! How dare you!

WT: What is your advice for others looking to get into QA testing? Aside from recommending Wired Talent of course.
JG: Just go for it! Also, know how to spell, type, and communicate well. Communication will help you get this job. I suppose a positive, fun, social attitude is not such a bad thing to have either.

WT: What is your all time favorite game?
JG: My all time favorite game would have to be Final Fantasy 4 (Final Fantasy 2 over here in America). Without this game, I never would have gotten into video games as a kid.

WT: Do you love Wired Talent?
JG: More than you can possibly ever know… I keep my love hidden deep down inside until it destroys and corrupts my very soul. <3>

A big thank you to Justin for participating in another great interview for our blog. To see if there are any current QA Openings with our company, please check out our Job Board.

Greg Santos and Susy Wysocki
Recruiters for Wired Talent

This entry was posted on Friday, April 17th, 2009 at 7:06 pm and is filed under Wired Talent Employees. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.