Only a few industries can go toe to toe with esports in terms of overall excitement and growth. The esports industry is a worldwide phenomenon that’s successful at attracting and entertaining one of the trickiest demographics in the world. As such, the esports industry has a massive demand for a skilled workforce; organizations are looking for that extra bit of edge to separate themselves from the competition. However, not enough people seem to know about outstanding esports career opportunities. 

That’s because most people still think the only well-paid career in esports is a professional player. While pro players are among the most paid positions in esports, people who don’t have godlike mechanical skills but excel in other departments are (typically) paid well.

If you’re an esports fan and you’re currently job-hunting, perhaps this piece is all you need for kickstarting your esports career!

As stated earlier, there’s more to careers in esports than being a professional player. The possibilities are endless, especially for teenagers who are yet to choose their expertise. The esports industry has scaled to impressive proportions and is in constant need of a skilled workforce across the board, meaning its job market won’t be saturated any time soon.

Here are some of the most common career opportunities in esports you’re bound to come across in 2021:

• Professional esports athlete
• Event host/caster/commentator
• Coach/analyst
• Product manager
• Server admin
• Event organizer
• Journalist/writer
• Social media manager
• Editor/publisher
• Nutritionist
• Psychologist
• Agent
• Production crew
• Sales
• Human resources
• Public relations
• Business development

These career opportunities are just the tip of the iceberg of what the esports industry brings to the table. If you’re interested in starting a career in esports, make sure you do more research before you start updating your CV and sending out cover letters.

If, however, you have all that sorted out already, you’re probably looking for a way in. Getting a job in esports might not be that easy since you can’t find these jobs with conventional methods. You’ll need to have a different approach. No worries, we got you covered! Here are three valuable lessons that ought to help you kickstart your career in esports!

What’s the best place to start looking for career opportunities in esports? The answer is quite obvious, Hitmarker! We’re talking about a specialized platform for finding and posting jobs in esports and gaming ecosystems.

Hitmarket’s design is simple and intuitive yet offers lots of filtration options. It takes only a few minutes to get used to page-to-page navigation. If you’re looking for jobs in esports, Hitmarker belongs at the top of your bucket list!

Upwork is another outstanding job-finding platform. It’s not esports/gaming-specific like Hitmarker, but it does enjoy a lot more popularity. Using both Hitmarker and Upwork to your advantage will greatly improve your odds of finding a good job in esports!

Exploring the depths of Hitmarker and Upwork is just one part of the job-finding process. Another way you can gain some traction is by creating/updating your LinkedIn profile. Most top-tier organizations in the industry often do background research on potential candidates, and a good LinkedIn profile will do you a world of good.

Additionally, don’t be afraid of reaching out to prominent figures in the esports industry. Every LinkedIn connection matters; remember that! Reach out to people in HR, present your skills and offer your services. Who knows, you might stumble upon an organization that needs just what you’re offering.

Be open to new things – don’t be afraid to jump on a work opportunity just because it’s slightly out of your comfort zone or it’s something you haven’t done before! Be brave, be creative but most importantly – be yourself!

You can’t expect to get a well-paying job right off the bat. People in the esports industry value experience above everything else. Sure, you can be passionate about esports. You can breathe esports but rarely will you find a client who will give you a senior’s rate right off the bat. 

You’ll have to make do with lower rates at the start of your esports career. Once you get the hang of things, once you get accustomed to the work environment and get a deeper understanding of behind-the-scenes processes within the industry, better rates will follow!

As mentioned earlier, such a thing as one proper way doesn’t exist. While esports career opportunities are plentiful, finding them isn’t that simple. Relying on conventional methods won’t get you far. You’ll have to look on platforms like Hitmarker and Upwork. Reaching out to prominent HR figures on LinkedIn is a viable option too. 

Perhaps your teen showed you this piece; perhaps you started researching esports career opportunities on your own. Whatever the case may be, if one of your children is passionate about gaming/esports, you should talk to them about their long-term career plans and see if they’re in any way interested in starting a career in esports.

Of course, teens will be all about becoming the next Perkz or S1mple. You, as the parent, need to lower the excitement level by explaining the cold hard facts about the 0.1%, but you need to do so without killing their passion for the scene. It’s going to be tricky, that’s for sure!

The esports industry was affected by the ongoing health crisis, but that didn’t stop the biggest organizations from developing even further. Now that we’re slowly getting into the “old normal,” the esports industry is bound to flourish once again. With it, so will the demand for well-paid positions in esports!

There are lots of organizations offering all sorts of courses that get you a shiny esports certificate. While these certificates won’t get you an esports job right away, they’re nice to have and could separate you from other applicants. 

However, these certificates aren’t the end all be all here! They won’t drastically increase your chances of getting a well-paid job. That said, they tend to be rather pricey, so you better think twice before signing up for a course! It’s a tricky decision, but one you’ll need to make if you’re even remotely serious about starting your career in esports!

Careers in esports aren’t the most lucrative gigs you can find out there, but they’re not exactly minimum wage either. The salary greatly depends on two things. First and foremost, your experience; second, the type of work you’re signing up for!

Obviously, your first esports job won’t get you a ton of money. The same will (probably) be true for your second and third jobs too. But, as time goes on and you gather enough precious experience in the industry, you’ll get more opportunities and much higher rates.

So, what sort of numbers are we talking about here? Well, let’s say they vary a lot – $15,000 to $20,000 per year for entry-level writers/journalists; $20,000 to $30,000 for entry-level leadership roles; $30,000 to $50,000 for managerial gigs. 

However, it’s best to take these numbers with a pinch of salt as we’ve seen journalists with upwards of $50,000 per year and managers with less than $30,000. So yeah, the esports industry is still highly volatile, but if you look at that as an opportunity or a challenge, you might be able to milk it for what it’s worth!

There are plenty of esports career opportunities that are in no way connected to playing video games on a professional level. Even though everything revolves around players, teams, and their performances on esports events, the industry has developed so much that a good portion of available job openings has little to do with the front end of things.

So yeah, long story short – there’s much more to esports career opportunities than being a pro player.