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How to Jumpstart Your Career in esports

How to Jumpstart Your Career in esports

ITTI esports

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As an industry that is both exciting and in constant growth, esports is attracting people from around the world that “want in”. However, not everyone has the necessary skills nor the time needed to become a professional player.

With the incredible expansion of electronic sports, we are now aware of more and more professional opportunities that exist or that have arisen in the industry over the years. According to the Asociación Española de Videojuegos, the esports industry generates  more than 35 million euros per year in Spain alone.

Fortunately, esports offers a variety of jobs for those who want to be close to the action, but are not set on necessarily becoming players themselves.

Professional Opportunities in esports

In the year 2020, there were 800 job openings in the esports sector, and this number has only increased since. There are different types of positions in an industry such as esports that go beyond those of a professional player, and we’ve highlighted the most prominent ones below:

Journalism

If you have extensive knowledge of video games and tournaments, then you should consider working as an esports writer. These days, content creators are sought out consistently by companies in almost every industry, and esports is no exception. Many companies with interests in video games are looking for qualified professionals to create content all about electronic sports. Start off as an amateur writer or blogger and you could wind up becoming a professional esports journalist or even a streamer or a game content creator.

And this trend doesn’t stop there. Esports teams and companies within the industry also hire their own content creators for a variety of roles, from covering the tournaments their players compete in, to analyzing their performance and gameplay. The content produced in this sector lends itself to different mediums as well. While written pieces are still an integral element of content creation, there is also a big demand for audiovisual content, which opens doors to competitive salaries within the A/V field such as video and sound editing. 

Marketing

Although esports has developed in large part thanks to the passion of its players, nowadays the promotion of tournaments, games, esports content, websites, and products has opened up job opportunities for those who have a background in marketing and sales. Although there are different marketing professionals in the esports field, common examples include consultants who are responsible for fostering long-term relationships with interested parties, Brand Managers, Marketing Managers, and Chief Marketing Officers as well.

Large esports companies invest millions of euros in promoting their brands, and there are many people who prefer to work full-time as esports executives in them. At the same time, there are marketing professionals who choose to offer their services to several different companies and opt for working as a freelancer or an independent contractor.

It is worth mentioning that there have been a barrage of job offers for social media marketing professionals to raise the profile of an esports team or companies. There are also those who are in charge of developing strategies with influencers to enhance a specific brand. In fact, one of the most talked about jobs of 2022 in esports marketing was that of the position of content creator for the KOI esports team, which was co-founded by Spanish streamer Ibai Llanos and former Barcelona player Gerard Pique.

Production

If you’ve ever attended an Esports tournament, you will have seen first-hand the amount of people needed to make it run smoothly. We’re talking about professionals who record the matches, manage the crowd, oversee the lighting, the sound, etc. 

Production specialists are primed for this type of work. Depending on their skills and experience, they can take care of lighting or camera work, but also join the sound team, manage esports hardware, streaming facilities, giant screens, projectors and more.

Last year, esports had over 73 million viewers worldwide, surpassing live broadcasts of certain teams in the NBA. Data like this makes it clear that production teams play a critical role in bringing professional gaming to interested audiences across the globe.

Coaching

If you’re an expert in gaming strategies but don’t feel ready to compete, consider starting your career as a coach. This may seem, at first glance, like a daunting prospect; getting to know your team members and their strengths and weaknesses is no small task. However, the reward of seeing the game from an elevated perspective and having the responsibility of bringing the strategies you have in mind to life is one that could be well worth the risk. Being a coach takes you off the esports battlefield and places you in the command post, with the ability to lead your team of soldiers to great success.

Manager

The role of a manager in the world of esports is quite wide-ranging, especially for those who don’t play themselves. Some of the responsibilities this job entails are public relations with stakeholders in the industry, monitoring the team’s image both on and off line and organizing events. With the primary goal of ensuring that everything is in place for tournaments to run effectively, working as a manager offers many opportunities and is an excellent way to put your management skills into practice.

Commentator or Caster

A caster’s primary job is to narrate esports competitions and fulfill the role of a sports commentator for viewers. Successful casters have a deep understanding of the game they are narrating, and depending on their role are able to provide information and analysis of each player’s actions and call the gameplay on a play-by-play basis in real-time.

As you might imagine, this profile requires strong communication skills to convey entertaining live commentary and make the audience feel the excitement of the game or tournament as it progresses. It’s not all about entertainment, however, as casters need to be knowledgeable on all fronts, from the details of the competition to the teams and players they will be discussing.

Tips

Identify your strengths: This advice can be applied to any industry, but in esports competition is quite high, so knowing your strengths and honing your skills related to them is as good a starting point as any.

Learn as much as you can about the games or electronic sports that interest you: It’s important to know the history and rules of the games you want to get involved with, as well as being up-to-date on the latest trends and news related to them.

Practice and improve your skills: Although we’ve previously explored other jobs that don’t involve playing games as a profession, it’s extremely beneficial to have a well-rounded idea of the games, their gameplay, and how they work.

Start creating content related to esports: This can include recording your own videos, writing reviews and articles, or starting live streams on platforms like Twitch or YouTube.

Use social media to promote your work and connect with others interested in esports: Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are useful tools for discovering job opportunities and getting your name out there in the world of esports.

Attend esports events and meet other professionals in the industry: Attending esports events will expand your network base and give you opportunities to learn from the valuable contacts you make.

How to get started in Esports?

At ITTI High Tech Institute, we offer our Executive Program in esports Management with the Barça Innovation Hub, which will open the doors for you to start your journey in the area of electronic sports that interests you the most.

Our faculty includes teachers like Marta Ruiz Gauna, who has worked for media companies like Media Pro. Professors like Marta will be essential to your learning process if your interests lie more in the field of Marketing.

On the other hand, you can delve into Business Development with teachers like Jaume Boan or, if you’re interested in the content creation side of things, Ron Rheingold from Twitch will show you how to bring out your most innovative side.

In case your sights are set on the executive side of esports, you will find Managers from FIFA like João Fonseca in our program to successfully guide you in that direction.

Our faculty also works at companies such as Microsoft, Rakuten, US esports Association, Razer, HyperX, among others.

So, our last question is: What are you waiting for? Sign up today for our Executive Program in Esports Management!

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