Esports Employment - Transferring from Traditional Industry

Over the recent years there has been a common trend in my LinkedIn message box of people approaching me and asking for messages, coffee and phone call catch-ups for assistance with a similar goal - Moving from 'traditional industry' into esports, gaming & technology.

With wide-ranging experience in roles from General Manager to Executive Assistant, Marketing Manager and Business Development reaching out, a common sentiment shared is that there's not yet a clear path of entry into esports employment.

It helps first to understand that esports is a category, much like sports as a blanket term. More related to those without business experience, when people approach me saying "I want to work in esports" without having an idea of role or direction is akin to saying "I want to work in automotive." Within esports there are a plethora of job roles that reflect industries new and old, from "Chief Gaming Officer" to administration assistants, team mental coaches, social media managers, chefs and more.

Once a desired job role is defined and understood, I often suggest people begin looking for a way to develop hands-on experience in the scene themselves, be it through free or limited offered services (example: as a lawyer, helping a professional player study their signing contract for free or a discounted rate) or by volunteering at a large gaming event.

Transitioning into this industry isn't always straightforward and follows similar issues when educating new brands and VC's on their pathways into the market, but, with some light research and hands-on experience, many find the esports, gaming and tech communities very welcoming.

Here at BIG Esports we run an online on-demand course tailored towards new entrants into the market. For more information, see our website. Within this course we provide a welcoming community of members for you to connect and share information and experiences with and expert guests to answer your questions.

This isn't intended to be established as the guide to end all guides, but written to help spur those interested in the industry in the right direction. In my recent podcast with Anne Matthews (Co-Founder, Fnatic) it was reiterated that there is becoming an increasing need for experienced and qualified professionals to join the industry as startups scale.

If you would like to get in touch and chat about esports employment, business and industry, I can be contacted on [email protected].

Want to get involved? Check out some professional communities:

• The Oceania Esports & Gaming Business Facebook Group
• The Esports Marketing & Business Facebook Group
• The Esports in Southeast Asia Facebook Group
• The Esports Business LinkedIn Group

I also suggest monitoring some of the top news & job seeker websites:

• The Esports Observer
• Hitmarker Jobs

I recently spoke to a few guests on our podcast about their personal transitions:

• Chris Derrick, CEO of ORDER Esports (Gaming team)
• Paul Cowley, Co-Founder of Thunder Insurance (Insurance for esports)
• James Bryce-Lind, VP of Business Development at BIG Esports

Header image by Steve Andreou at our client's #Burgerlove Burger Battles event in March, 2019.