If you are looking to make a career out of eSports, here’s our step by step guide on how to kick-start it in the right direction.
Our blog has helped potential eSports gamers and non-gamers over its existence, educating and informing them on the pros and cons of making a career in eSports. This article is for those who are looking for that initial push in the right direction.
Over the course of this article, we will also point to links within this blog which could make for an excellent resource guide for the future too. For now, however, here’s how you can start things off in gaming.
The title of this article can sure make you wonder: can you truly have an eSports career? Many years ago, eSports or gaming wasn’t a career too many people thought was possible let alone brag about. It was mostly just a few gamers getting together to compete in a local multiplayer session that may have involved some food and drinks.
But these days, the eSports scene has changed significantly.
It’s gotten to a point where you can make a lot of money out of it. Yes, the idea that you can earn your way to riches by playing video games so darn good and getting people to cheer on you like you’re a basketball player in the NBA is one heck of a thing to behold.
But the ever-charming eSports career isn’t just about being the top gamer in the world. As you’ll discover below, finding your place in the eSports world will surprise you when you see the alternatives. So read on and find out how you can kick-start your eSports career!
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Getting Started With An eSports Career
When it comes to the eSports career, it pays to know what you’ll be getting into. You can’t barge in and proclaim you’re worthy of being part of the eSports world. You have to find your path towards getting an eSports career. Besides, you’ll be just be labeled a talker by everyone.
So what’s the way to get started with an eSports career? Here are a few important ways to get yourself into the zone of it all.
1. Start by Becoming an eSports Streamer
An easy way to get started with establishing your eSports career is picking a popular game and streaming it up as an eSports streamer. This job typically involves you live-streaming a game you’re playing competitively through your channel.
From using Twitch to Discord, you’re giving viewers out there a chance to see the competitive side of things in the gaming world.
Got the skills to take down your opponents wisely? Know your strategies with specific systems? Flaunt them and stream it for attention.
The downsides for this job type are that earning will take a while, and earning sponsors’ attention will be challenging since others are out there. For more details about this and the other things you need to know about being an eSports streamer, you can head over here.
2. Offer Your Services for an Established Team
Not in the mood to start your own streaming channel but still want in on the eSports vibes? Join up with an established team. Much like how you’d join a sports team, joining an eSports team can prove to be an exciting jumpstart for your career.
Aside from being able to join a team that’s got sponsors and salary, you’ll be able to learn the nooks and crannies on how eSports competitors can be in real life.
You’ll also be able to establish team coordination and other skills that’ll help you get through the games.
If you want to get an in-depth guide on how to join an established eSports team, you can visit our article here.
3. Grab Attention at Tournaments, Hook up with Sponsors
Another way of getting started with your eSports career is getting attention at tournaments and letting the sponsors know about you where you’ll be emailing, chatting, and texting the people in the know to let them know who you are.
It’s similar to being an eSports streamer except for this job type; you’ll be getting a sponsor to hire you as their representative.
It can be a tough thing to do since you got other competitors to go up against, but when you’ve got the skills to show that gets everyone excited, there’s no way they’ll turn you down.
4. Be Educated on the Ways of eSports
Would you believe that there are universities out there that offer courses about eSports gaming? Oh, yes, there are. Here’s a list of USA-based universities which offer courses and scholarships for eSports gamers while you can check on the UK-based educational institutes here.
It’s an excellent way to start your eSports career because you’ll learn the patterns from established organizations and curb down the learning curve.
It’ll also be an excellent opportunity to be part of the eSports world through college courses because many offer scholarships. Wouldn’t that look good on your CV down the line?
5. Explore Other Ways You can Kick-Start your eSports Career
The ways you’ve just read about are just the start. Many more ways beyond them can help you establish your eSports career. From showcasing your skills at Fiverr to seeing the postings on freelance websites, it’ll get your gears pumping.
You can read about them in our non-gaming eSports job section below.
The Non-Gaming Job Types In eSports
You might come to a point where competitive gaming isn’t in your blood. Maybe it won’t even be something to consider for your future career choices, but you may still feel that the eSports spirit is still there.
Well, you can wipe those doubts away because when it comes to eSports, there are non-gaming job types you can try that’ll get your career going, even when it doesn’t involve you competing.
You may say, “Really?” Yes, really. Here are some of the non-gaming job types you can try for yourself.
We have drilled deeper into this topic in our piece on the 20+ eSports jobs to consider here
1. Journalist
You may think the journalist has no place in the world of eSports, but you’d be making a huge mistake to assume that. The journalist can make quite a lot for an eSports career. How so? For starters, eSports journalists have the opportunity to get things rolling and reporting the status of the eSports world.
From blogs to videos, journalists can bring the world of eSports to viewers everywhere with a personality and charm. You can think of it as being the Jimmy Kimmel for the eSports news. Wouldn’t that be cool?
If you’re up for this kind of job and wonder what to do, you can read our guide here for a good headstart.
Here’s our 11 tips for beginner eSports journalists.
2. Commentator/Shoutcaster
Another job type you’ll likely be surprised with when it comes to kick-starting your eSports career is being a commentator. You may think it’s nothing but think about someone like Joe Rogan. He was a commentator for the UFC and became a wild sensation once he put up his podcast show.
So when it comes to this job, it’s all about making exciting commentaries on how things are going with the eSports event while also sharing your personality and letting the users know what’s going on while keeping them engaged.
Another helpful and in-depth guide on who is an eSports shoutcaster and how to become one here.
3. Coach
You might not have it in you to go gaming competitively, but you know your strategies like the back of your hand. In that case, start your career as a coach. You’ll exercise your inner Sun Tzu for this job type and get a team to become the winners.
It can be tough to do this because you need to know your team members because of their strengths and weaknesses, tolerance, and other details that will help you establish a great path.
But the reward for pushing through with this is you’ll be able to see the game from a higher view. It’s easy to say you’re no longer the soldier in the eSports world: You’re the commander, and you got what it takes to make the strategies you’ve got in mind work.
4. Manager
In a sense, the manager role is broad in the eSports world, especially for the non-gaming types. One manager role you can go for is the social media manager, where you handle how an eSports team is portrayed in the social media outlets such as making media posts and tweets.
Another manager role is being the event manager, where you’ll be organizing events and orchestrating the things that must be done to get the events to run as they should be. It opens up a lot of opportunities, and it’s excellent to flex your managing skills.
These are just some of the types you can tinker with when you want to have a non-gaming run for your eSports career.
5. Production Crew
Another way to get into the world of eSports without playing is being part of the production crew where you’ll handle how things are broadcasted for the viewers.
You might think it’s not all that important, but you have to wonder indeed: who handles the way videos are taken? How can editing be done in a way that it’ll come out exciting for the users online? If you got the skills to make broadcasting cool, then this is the one for you.
As mentioned earlier, there are other non-gaming jobs you can find in the world of eSports. If you’re curious about them, feel free to check them out here.
Build A Steady Path With Your eSports Career
Once you’ve taken the first step with your eSports career with your job choice, you’ll need to build a steady path. It’s going to a bumpy ride, but in time, you’ll find your groove and stick with it as you ride along.
But how can you build a steady path when you’re just starting out? Don’t worry; there are a few ways you can try.
1. Know the ins and outs of your chosen job
As you’re getting started with your eSports career, be familiar with the ins and outs of your selected job. For example, if you’re an eSports streamer, know how to get more followers, choose the best streaming platform, and so on.
Another example is if you’re going it all out as a team member for an established team. You have to know how your manager will do things, get a grip on the way the whole team plays, and other things that will help you along the way.
In a way, keeping the ins and outs of your chosen eSports job will help in the long run.
2. Plan out your way for advancement
Like any job, there’ll be ranks and levels to go up. That’s why with your eSports job, it’s a good idea to plan our way for how to advance the stories. It varies with the position but what is essential for all of them is breaking down the steps.
A good example is if you’re an eSports journalist. You might have the idea of being the editor-in-chief down the line, so break down the steps on how you can do that: Get your reports on time, ask for challenging assignments, and other things that can help your advancement.
The best way to be able to plan is to first be aware of your own field and of the other fields around eSports.
Read blogs and websites around eSports specific to the field in which you want to make a career.
Listen to podcasts. Watch videos.
There’s a ton of material out there, which you can use to help yourself.
When you plan out your path for advancement, it’ll open unique and essential opportunities for your career growth.
3. Learn and apply what you learn
When you’re doing a job, you don’t just do the same thing over and over: You also understand and apply what you learn to gain experience, just like how you’d do in video games. With your chosen eSports job, it’s essential to do this.
To elaborate on this, let’s say you’ve chosen to be the eSports coach. For this job, you’ll learn how to communicate with your team, learn the rules, and so on. As you go through your path, you’ll learn many new things that will come in handy.
Once you’ve got the knowledge in you, you have the freedom to apply them appropriately. In a way, this will help you get your advancement well because you’re already gaining experience to be better at your job.
This can be applied to any eSports job you’ve chosen, so don’t be afraid to learn, use, and experiment.
Final Words
Establishing an eSports career can be fascinating.
While traditional folks out there will see it as nothing; it’s got opportunities when you forge on. From the gaming to non-gaming types, there are many jobs for those who are willing to give it a shot. So out there and build your path towards a great eSports career!