In the early 2000s, esports, nyerőgépek, or video gaming, wasn’t considered a career option by many people. A typical esports event back then consisted of a handful of gamers playing against each other in one multiplayer session. There may have been some food and drinks during each session, too. Today, the esports industry has changed dramatically. It’s reached a point where players can make fortunes out of it. Many players have gotten rich simply by being good at video games. They even have millions of fans cheering them on in the same way as basketball players in the NBA. As a career, esports offers the promise of a competitive salary. If you didn’t know already, there’s a wide variety of professions in the esports world. From playing to management, there’s a career for anyone wanting to be involved in esports. In this article, we take a look at the competitive games industry and offer a few tips on how to start your career in esports.
What Types of Jobs and Careers Exist in Esports?
The esports industry has a whole host of roles you can aspire to. These include:
- Professional player
- Coach/ Analyst
- Host/ Caster
- Product Manager
- Content creator/ Journalist
- Marketing/ PR Executive
- Referee/ Admin
- Partnerships/ Sales manager
- Event manager
- Organization Manager/ Owner
- Social media/ Community manager
- Production/ Broadcast crew
- Agent
- Game developer/ Publisher/ Distributor
- Lawyer
- Statistician
- Support
- Finance
How to Get Into an eSports Career
If you want an esports career, you must choose your path toward your goal. So, what’s the best way to start your journey to becoming an esports professional? Here are some helpful tips to help you get started.
Find Your Niche
When finding your niche, you must ask yourself some questions. What games do you excel at and love? What skills and roles are you good at and enjoy? Do you aim to be a gamer, coach, manager, analyst, host, or something else?
The esports industry offers many job and career pathways, so be sure to choose one that best suits you. You can research different esports games, genres, organizations, and scenes to see what you like the most. It’s also a good idea to view and follow professional gamers, teams, content creators, and tournaments in your preferred niche and learn something.
Build Your Skills
Whether you choose to play video games professionally or not, you need a high level of knowledge and skills in your niche. Therefore, you have to study, practice, and improve upon your game mechanics, tactics, strategies, communication, mental willpower, and teamwork.
In addition, you need to cultivate other skills relevant to your career or role, such as analysis, content creation, networking, marketing, management, leadership management, etc. You can also learn and improve your skills with the help of online communities, forums, courses, and tools.
Build Your Portfolio
Creating your portfolio is another critical step in your quest to launch an esports career. In that case, you need to demonstrate your personality, skills, and achievements to potential employers, partners, sponsors, and fans.
To build your portfolio, you can participate in leagues, tournaments, projects, and events in your niche. It’s also advisable to produce your own content, which can include videos, streams, podcasts, social media posts, blogs, and much more. With your portfolio, you’ll be able to showcase your value, professionalism, and credibility in esports.
Network and Apply
You have to connect with like-minded people who share your love of esports. You can engage in networking with other players, managers, coaches, content creators, casters, analysts, influencers, and organizers in your chosen esports job/career.
Moreover, you can network with teams, organizations, media outlets, platforms, and sponsors who are seeking esports talent.
With your esports networks, you can find referrals, opportunities, and feedback. Furthermore, you can also leverage your networks to apply for contracts, jobs, partnerships, and sponsorships in esports.
Continue to Learn and Adapt
Esports is a competitive and dynamic industry that requires continuous improvement and innovation. You have to keep pace with the latest developments, challenges, and trends in your niche. To stay ahead of the competition, you have to continuously learn new insights, skills, and techniques that could help you improve and elevate your career.
Moreover, you have to constantly adapt to the evolving demands, opportunities, and expectations in esports. More importantly, you have to be flexible, open-minded, and resilient in your esports career.
Enjoy the Ride
Esports is a passion-fueled, lucrative industry that can provide you with multiple benefits, including fame, fortune, fun, friendship, and fulfillment. But it’s also a stressful and demanding industry that may pose several challenges, including pressure, criticism, competition, uncertainty, and burnout.
Therefore, balancing your professionalism, passion, work and life, expectations, and goals could be the difference between succeeding in your career and not. When you finally start a career in esports, make sure to enjoy the ride and cherish the experience!
Summary
Esports is a rapidly growing and competitive industry. Being a professional video gamer or working in an esports job requires plenty of skill, dedication, and patience.
To build a successful esports career, you’ll need to master your favorite game and build your name in the community. Once you do that, you can start to make good income via your content, tournament prize money, and sponsorships.
