Product Tester Jobs: What Are They and How Can I Get One?

Product testing verifies a product’s quality and informs consumers about its reliability. Companies can advertise based on claims backed by evidence acquired through testing, which includes checking a product's functionality and performing quality tests. 

Product testing can also safeguard against litigation regarding defective products or false advertising. The testing process will also provide the manufacturer with information to help make warranty decisions or add protection for the customer based on testing results. 

A product testing career involves all the operations, ensuring products function as designed. If you’re interested in quality assurance, understanding how products work, and testing product functionality and durability, you may find product testing a good field. 

Explore product tester jobs below, including your day-to-day responsibilities and how much you can expect to earn. 

What is a product tester?

Corporations often hire distributors or marketing firms that then hire product testers to evaluate products and determine their capabilities and what uses they can withstand. The company then uses the product tester’s feedback to make claims when selling the product.

As a product tester, you can use a product or conduct specific tests based on a procedure and evaluate the product based on valuable criteria for the company. You’ll then give the company detailed feedback about your experience with the product and any other useful information you may have.

The better you understand how the product should function, the experience it should provide, and the company’s expectations, the better you can perform product testing.

What do product testers test?

Product testers work in many industries, including beauty, food, kitchenware, education, books, toys, furniture, hygiene, and health. The information product testers gather is often a primary marketing talking point, so product testing in these industries is essential for their business operations. Examples of products companies have product testers evaluate include:

• Video games

• Software

• Cosmetics

• Athletic footwear and apparel

• Automobiles

• Foods and beverages

• Electronics

• Baby and toddler products

• Pet products

• Household cleaners

How much do product testers earn?

The average annual base pay for product testers in Canada is $49,366 CAD [1]. In some cases, you might become a product tester in addition to other work or as a part-time job. In this case, your income will depend on the opportunities you select and how often you test products. 

Types of product testing roles

You can choose from various testing roles, each with a specialty. Four common product testing roles to choose from include:

• Concept testing: This involves a team of testers exploring a product's idea and projecting how it will sell on the market. Concept testing often involves teams pitching different product ideas to executives and carrying out customer surveys. 

• Quality assurance (QA) testing: QA occurs in a controlled setting. Testing teams thoroughly test product efficacy and reliability before placing it on the market and evaluating various valuable criteria for the company.

• A/B testing: This type of testing involves comparing two versions of a product. The test groups will determine which features are valuable to customers through surveys. The features they will test could be colors, names, features, and other minor changes to the product. The A/B testing will shape the final product based on critical customer feedback.

• Market testing: Market testing involves launching a product into the market to assess how customers receive it, how it performs in various demographics, and what changes may increase product quality and sales. This product testing helps the sales teams quantify a product’s popularity and whether it’s worth investing resources in, including advertising, person-hours, and distribution.

Work-from-home options

Working from home as a product tester is easier now than ever. Most companies want their products tested in the home because end users will interact with them the most.

Your employer will likely ship products to you, and you’ll use company software or another interface to evaluate products, give feedback, and quantify the criteria your company offers you.

Qualifications needed to become a product tester

Becoming a product tester has no formal education requirements. However, most companies seek people with knowledge and familiarity with their products so they’ll receive an accurate evaluation. Someone who’s used a particular brand for a long time would be a top tester candidate because they know the ins and outs and what to expect from a given product.

Experience needed to become a product tester

The most valuable experience for an aspiring product tester would be someone familiar with a particular company or product. Someone participating in focus groups, surveys, or polls to test demographics and markets would also make a strong product tester candidate. For software testers, someone with knowledge of the software’s functions and services would be valuable. 

Getting started

If testing products at home and getting to experience products before they enter the market interests you, becoming a product tester may be a good career move. You can also make a career out of product testing. Explore the Introduction to Software Testing course from the University of Minnesota on Coursera to learn more.