Getting a career in esports

As the esports industry has grown, so has the variety of career options available. If you’re looking for a career in esports, there are many options available today, aside from being an esports competitor. Esports players and teams now require much more support than in previous years as the industry has matured. Esports now offers several viable career options and many of the skills developed in these roles can be transferred to other careers in tech, digital and STEM industries, from software development, to network engineering, marketing, design, branding, cloud solutions and much more!

With esports now having over 810 million enthusiasts around the globe, more options than ever are coming around for you to get into the industry.

In this guide, we look at some of the different roles in esports, and our top tips on how to get your career started. 

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What kind of jobs are there in esports?

There are many different roles within esports in a wide variety of sectors. Here’s a selection of some of the roles you can get involved in:

• Professional player
• Shoutcaster/host
• Coach/analyst
• Journalist/content creator
• PR/Marketing executive
• Product manager
• Sales/partnerships manager
• Admin/referee
• Organisation owner/manager
• Community/social media manager
• Broadcast/production crew
• Event manager
• Agent
• Other roles (statistician, lawyer, finance, support etc)
• Other gaming careers (developers, publishers, distribution etc)

More information about the different roles in esports can be found on our Careers Hub.

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How can I start a career in esports?

There are several ways to get your foot in the door. Firstly, the good news is there are more jobs in esports than ever before, which means it’s easier than it was to get involved.

The bad news is it usually requires a lot of hard work and dedication, and it can get pretty competitive, so you’ll want to make sure it’s something you’re passionate about.

Here are our top tips on getting started in the scene:

1. Work experience:

A good place to start is to reach out to teams, organisations, tournament providers, broadcasters and other companies that are involved in esports. Try and contact a senior person or someone you want to work with in particular. The bigger the company you go for, the more likely you’ll be able to book in some work experience, but going for a smaller organisation has its upsides, especially if you’re looking for a more hands-on role.

Getting a valuable work experience placement can take a little while, so try to contact respected companies and friendly individuals who will take the time to give you an insight into the world of esports and help you develop your skills. Try and secure a placement in a field you’re interested in, but if you’re not sure, try completing two or three placements in different areas to help you decide what you want to do.

If you’re on work experience and aren’t being given many tasks, why not ask questions, show enthusiasm and come up with suggestions with things you could potentially work on. Making a good impression can go a long way, you never know what contacts an employer will have or what doors would open in the future.

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2. Find a niche:

Being an all-rounder has its benefits, but focusing on one area and specialising in it can go a long way.

Read up on the various job roles you can get involved in and try to identify an area you are passionate about.

If you have great communication, writing and social media skills, for example, you could hone in on journalism, PR and marketing. Maybe look into each area and do some work experience to help decide what you want to go into.

You might be an expert in Counter-Strike and feel confident in your casting or analysis skills, or you might love Call of Duty and want to work for an organisation specifically within that game, for example.

Identify what you’re interested in and go from there.

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3. Become a volunteer:

There are several companies that are often on the lookout for paid-for and unpaid volunteer positions.

You could volunteer as event staff, tournament admins, casters, hosts, writers, editors, and so much more – just keep your eyes peeled for opportunities.

The benefits of volunteering include gaining valuable experience, getting involved with an event for free and having something to add to your CV. Prospective employers will likely be impressed if you have volunteered or completed work experience placements and have a glowing review from whoever you volunteered with.

For more information on volunteering in esports, check out our guide here.

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4. Just dive in:

A great way to learn, perfect your skills and improve is to just start doing whatever it is you want to get paid to do.

If you want to be a pro player, put the practice in and try to join a local team to start with.

If you want to be a journalist, start a blog, write regularly and promote your content on social media.

If you want to be a caster, get casting! Several impressive UK casters started with the likes of The NUEL and NSE, and have built their career from there.

Consider studying a degree, becoming an apprentice or taking another further education course to specialise in a specific area, for example marketing or business studies. There are many colleges and universities across the UK that now run esports courses, so this can be an option as well to further your knowledge of the industry.

A full list of all of the courses can be found here.

Taking the initiative will gain you new contacts, open doors, improve your skills and impress prospective employers.

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5. Keep your eyes peeled:

Once you know what you want to do and have built up some experience, sign up to job alerts online, follow the kind of companies you want to work for and check for job openings.

Some esports job sites include:

• Hitmarker
• Glassdoor
• Indeed

It’s a good idea to just generally be on the lookout for jobs. Try and get into a routine and check once a day or once a week. It can be hard to stay motivated at this time, but if you keep on working at it and talking to people, jobs will come up.

Internships are also a good option, but be clear with the length of time you are available to work and salary expectations before applying.

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These are just some of our top tips on getting started in an esports career – so go out there and join one of the fastest growing industries out there!

Let us know on the British Esports Twitter what guides you would like to see next, and we may feature them in an upcoming article.