uTest Software Testing

More and more people are looking for freelance jobs these days. Not so long ago a variety of online jobs included just a few options, such as copywriting, customer support, search engine evaluation, and the social media jobs offered by the big companies such as Appen and Lionbridge. Lately, a lot more types of businesses are showing up online needing help from people that own computers or smartphone devices. Now any independent freelancer can choose from a handful of companies that offer jobs like application testing, software testing, and other types of jobs where installing applications and running them for stability which are options to make some extra money. Sometimes an independent contractor can find full-time jobs and become skilled specialists. Some companies come and go and some stand out, being especially interesting and worth everyone’s consideration. With that said, there is a new company that just started out recently called uTest.com.

uTest offers new opportunities to get paid while making a contribution to modern software markets and improving different applications and giving feedback on bugs. The service is dedicated to software and application testing. Professional software testers, developers, and web enthusiasts are able to register on this website and test various apps and writing bug reports that get sent back to the developers. Right after this, they can get offers on their first paid projects. Each one of these offers has some short questionnaire on your equipment and checks to see if you qualify.

The interface of the platform is quite simple, and the payment policy is clear with the ability to get paid by either PayPal or Payoneer. The service also has a friendly community of testers who share their experience with each other. In addition, uTest has its own Academy which helps beginners from all over the world in learning software testing.

Registration

To become a freelance software tester, you must be at least 18 years old and have a device such as a PC, tablet, smartphone, and even gaming consoles. uTest works with freelancers from all over the world. No previous testing experience is required. Moreover, on uTest, you can find thousands of free online courses, guides, and webinars to learn more about functional testing and sharpen your skills.

Registration of a new account is fast and simple. You have to fill a form, providing basic information about yourself, such as the full name, location, email address and native languages. After this, you will need to specify the types of devices you own, the models, operating systems of your PC. You can choose multiple devices to expand the range of available software that you are able to test. The service claims that testers are allowed to work on any device that provides a stable internet connection, including smart TVs, gaming consoles, and even fitness trackers. However, currently, mobile devices comprise 70% of all the projects on uTest. That will likely change in the future as the company becomes more well-known and picks up other clients that need software testers.

uTest registration is absolutely free, without any hidden fees.

Getting Started

First of all, you must complete your profile. To do it, select “Expand my Profile” or “Go to Platform” in the navigation menu. The more accurate information you provide; the more projects that you will get matched up with. Thus, we suggest updating your profile anytime you get a new device.

Once you’ve registered an account, you have to prove your qualification skills for certain projects by completing the uTest Sandbox Cycle. You shouldn’t worry about this as it’s all relatively easy stuff. This is a mixed testing cycle that includes elements of exploratory testing as well as a test case. Usually, you get your invitation to the Sandbox within two weeks after the account is registered. But in our experience the moment we registered we started getting invitations to join certain projects. You may also contact community managers to request an invitation. We received several invitations for different jobs that had different requirements such as age or device specific projects.

Generally, the number of test cycle invites depends on your statistics. The more bugs you report; the more jobs you get. This is somewhat how Appen Global works. Thus, we suggest participating in more test cycles and collecting more experience in your profile. After the Sandbox, you can check out the uTest Academy section to find more cycles that will give you basic experience. Another way to make your profile more attractive is the uTest 101 Quiz that is focused on your expectations and rules of the service. The completion of the uTest Quiz gives you higher priority in the distribution of test cycles.

Payments

As mentioned previously uTest supports Payoneer and PayPal systems. Testers get paid twice a month, on the 15th and the last day of every month. The transfer to a PayPal or Payoneer account may take up to 24 hours, which is a usual time for these payment services. However, PayPal payments once sent are usually immediate.

Keep in mind that if you use a Payoneer account, you won’t be able to link it to your uTest account unless you’ve earned at least $10. In case your Payoneer account is set up to transfer payments directly to your bank card, you’ll need to have at least $50 in uTest to transfer money to the Payoneer account.

Payoneer now has a sign up program that’s a good incentive to join, lets benefit together!

As Payoneer is now the only way to get paid by Appen, and if you do not have a Payoneer account yet I invite you to apply for Payoneer account via my referral link:

https://tracking.payoneer.com/SHRq

U.S. citizens who earn more than $500 a year on the website may also need to complete a W-9 form for taxes. You are always responsible for doing your own taxes as uTest will never take out taxes. In this case, you can find all necessary information in Accounts & Settings > Payments.

All freelancers get paid in USD only, though the website allows them to see their earnings in any local currency.

Rating System

uTest has its own rating system, rating freelancers based on their activity and the quality of their work. Ratings are calculated every day. Any tester can be classified as Rated, Proven, Bronze, Silver, or Gold. However, you won’t see any badge on your profile unless you have enough activity points. This rating system considers various parameters of your performance. For example, you can be unrated in some types of testing while being rated Gold in functional testing.

Higher ratings allow you to get higher payout rates. For example, Gold testers earn 10% more on every approved report. Silver and Bronze testers receive additional 5% and 2,5%, respectively. These extras are calculated only for a certain testing type. For example, if you’re a Gold Usability tester, you won’t get extra 10% for Security tests.

The rating system takes into account the percentage of approved and rejected reports. All bugs are classified by their importance. Thus, you don’t have to go for a higher approval percentage. Instead, try to find more valuable bugs. Some testers have 98% of reports approved, but their bugs mostly fall into the “Somewhat valuable” category. Their ratings are lower than those of testers who have more reports approved and end up having a higher percentage of exceptionally valuable bugs.

The important thing that often affects ratings negatively is the submission of test reports. If a tester accepts a test cycle without providing at least one report, this will cause a negative impact on his or her rating. It’s better to decline a test cycle from the very beginning than to accept it and get a negative rating.

If a report was rejected but a tester doesn’t agree with the customer on such a decision, he or she can use the Dispute feature built into the website to provide the customer with more information. However, we suggest avoiding unnecessary use of this feature because a rejected dispute will have a more negative effect on your rating than an initially rejected report.

Conclusion

uTest is a convenient and reliable platform for professional software testers as well as for those who want to try something new. The friendly environment and clear payment policy guarantee the best experience for freelance testers of any skill level. In addition, you can register here for free and join the uTest Academy to learn more about testing and to try this service. If you are a uTest member, let us know what your experience has been in the comments, and as always, leave any questions you might have in the comments and we’ll answer them.