And the point is...? He gave up a viable career in music because of one failure. Lacking more productive alternatives, he took on play-testing games. Lacking a

And the point is...? He gave up a viable career in music because of one failure. Lacking more productive alternatives, he took on play-testing games. Lacking any inherent forward momentum, not standing out in an abundance of similar applicants, he quit that too. Supply-and-demand rules. There's a lot of kids wanting to get paid to play games. There's probably a bunch like him, older looking-for-something-anything types overqualified but willing. There wasn't an apparent upward-mobility path, and while he may have been better than average he didn't sound outstanding in a room full of easy-come-easy-go high-turnover types. With so many applicants for a short-learning-curve job, the company has little incentive to keep 'em happy. Don't mean to bash the guy. He, and his situation, are not horrible - and not outstanding. Work is work, some jobs have a certain degree & type of suck, do it or move on ... he moved on. What's to strike about? $11/hr to play games? Industry won't pay more because there's plenty willing to work for that pay. Crappy conditions/treatment? High-turnover positions in a high-stakes industry tend to. You're doing a low-training task (playing games) in a rather safe & comfortable environment, paid a decent wage considering the job, and have otherwise little stake in the project; it's not like you risk falling into a sausage grinder or have your life savings tied up in the product's success. Strike? You don't show up, somebody else will be happy to take your seat.