Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Digital games designer to software tester

A digital games designer already meets 41% of what the software tester role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From digital games designer
41 % overlap
Partial match
To software tester
40 You already bring
10 Still to learn
80 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

67.8/ 100

1 How much of what a software tester is expected to do is already part of a digital games designer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the software tester role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A software tester role treats 0 of its required skills as things a digital games designer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 40 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A software tester role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a digital games designer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held ICT performance analysis methods information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held application usability information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held CoffeeScript information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Erlang information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Smalltalk (computer programming) information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Microsoft Visual C++ information and communication technologies (icts)

All 40 carried skills, including the 0 the software tester role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 40 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information and communication technologies (icts) 4 required, 15 supplementary
  • still to learn levels of software testing required
  • still to learn software anomalies required
  • still to learn software architecture models required
  • still to learn software metrics required
  • optional, not held ICT debugging tools optional
  • optional, not held LDAP optional
  • optional, not held LINQ optional
  • optional, not held MDX optional
  • optional, not held N1QL optional
  • optional, not held SPARQL optional
  • optional, not held XQuery optional
  • optional, not held query languages optional
  • optional, not held resource description framework query language optional
  • optional, not held software components libraries optional
  • optional, not held tools for ICT test automation optional
  • optional, not held trading software optional
  • optional, not held unstructured data optional
  • optional, not held digital systems optional
  • optional, not held hardware components optional
02 working with computers 3 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn execute software tests required
  • still to learn perform software unit testing required
  • still to learn replicate customer software issues required
  • optional, not held conduct ICT code review optional
  • optional, not held debug software optional
  • optional, not held execute integration testing optional
  • optional, not held perform software recovery testing optional
  • optional, not held use scripting programming optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn provide software testing documentation required
  • still to learn address problems critically required
  • optional, not held develop ICT test suite optional
  • optional, not held develop automated software tests optional
04 information skills 1 required
  • still to learn report test findings required
05 business, administration and law 5 supplementary
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held ICT project management methodologies optional
  • optional, not held Process-based management optional
  • optional, not held lean project management optional
  • optional, not held audit techniques optional
06 management skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held plan software testing optional
  • optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a software tester role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 40 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held ABAP knowledge
  • already held AJAX knowledge
  • already held APL knowledge
  • already held ASP.NET knowledge
  • already held Assembly (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held C# knowledge
  • already held C++ knowledge
  • already held COBOL knowledge
  • already held CoffeeScript knowledge
  • already held Common Lisp knowledge
  • already held Erlang knowledge
  • already held Groovy knowledge
  • already held Haskell knowledge
  • already held ICT performance analysis methods knowledge
  • already held Java (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held JavaScript knowledge
  • already held Lisp knowledge
  • already held MATLAB knowledge
  • already held ML (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Microsoft Visual C++ knowledge
  • already held Objective-C knowledge
  • already held OpenEdge Advanced Business Language knowledge
  • already held PHP knowledge
  • already held Pascal (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Perl knowledge
  • already held Prolog (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Python (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held R knowledge
  • already held Ruby (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held SAP R3 knowledge
  • already held SAS language knowledge
  • already held Scala knowledge
  • already held Scratch (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Smalltalk (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Swift (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held TypeScript knowledge
  • already held VBScript knowledge
  • already held Visual Basic knowledge
  • already held application usability knowledge
  • already held computer programming knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 constructing 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held measure software usability optional
30 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held ICT debugging tools optional
  • optional, not held ICT project management methodologies optional
  • optional, not held LDAP optional
  • optional, not held LINQ optional
  • optional, not held MDX optional
  • optional, not held N1QL optional
  • optional, not held Process-based management optional
  • optional, not held SPARQL optional
  • optional, not held XQuery optional
  • optional, not held conduct ICT code review optional
  • optional, not held debug software optional
  • optional, not held develop ICT test suite optional
  • optional, not held develop automated software tests optional
  • optional, not held execute integration testing optional
  • optional, not held lean project management optional
  • optional, not held measure software usability optional
  • optional, not held perform software recovery testing optional
  • optional, not held plan software testing optional
  • optional, not held query languages optional
  • optional, not held resource description framework query language optional
  • optional, not held software components libraries optional
  • optional, not held tools for ICT test automation optional
  • optional, not held trading software optional
  • optional, not held unstructured data optional
  • optional, not held use scripting programming optional
  • optional, not held audit techniques optional
  • optional, not held digital systems optional
  • optional, not held hardware components optional
  • optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
56 held skills the software tester role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role 3D lighting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role 3D texturing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Agile development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role CryEngine knowledge
  • not needed by the target role DevOps knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Frostbite (digital game creation systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role GameSalad knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Gamemaker Studio knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Havok Vision knowledge
  • not needed by the target role HeroEngine knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT security legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Project Anarchy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Prototyping development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role RAGE (digital game creation systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Rapid application development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Shiva (digital game creation systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Source (digital game creation systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Spiral development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Unity (digital game creation systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Unreal Engine knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Waterfall development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse business requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role animate 3D organic forms skill
  • not needed by the target role apply 3D imaging techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role augmented reality knowledge
  • not needed by the target role compose digital game story skill
  • not needed by the target role computer graphics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role create 3D characters skill
  • not needed by the target role create 3D environments skill
  • not needed by the target role create concept of digital game skill
  • not needed by the target role create digital game characters skill
  • not needed by the target role create software design skill
  • not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role design graphics skill
  • not needed by the target role design process skill
  • not needed by the target role digital game creation systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role digital game genres knowledge
  • not needed by the target role estimate duration of work skill
  • not needed by the target role formulate game rules skill
  • not needed by the target role hardware platforms knowledge

16 further entries not listed here

24 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn levels of software testing required
  • still to learn software anomalies required
  • still to learn software architecture models required
  • still to learn software metrics required
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held ICT debugging tools optional
  • optional, not held ICT project management methodologies optional
  • optional, not held LDAP optional
  • optional, not held LINQ optional
  • optional, not held MDX optional
  • optional, not held N1QL optional
  • optional, not held Process-based management optional
  • optional, not held SPARQL optional
  • optional, not held XQuery optional
  • optional, not held lean project management optional
  • optional, not held query languages optional
  • optional, not held resource description framework query language optional
  • optional, not held software components libraries optional
  • optional, not held tools for ICT test automation optional
  • optional, not held trading software optional
  • optional, not held unstructured data optional
  • optional, not held audit techniques optional
  • optional, not held digital systems optional
  • optional, not held hardware components optional
Index

Other moves recorded from digital games designer

Full index of moves from digital games designer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a digital games designer become a software tester?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A digital games designer already covers 41% of what a software tester is expected to do: 40 skills carry over, 0 of which the software tester role treats as required.

What skills does a digital games designer need to become a software tester?

10 required skills are missing, plus 30 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is execute software tests.

How hard is the move from digital games designer to software tester?

Its learning distance is 67.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.