Cameron Carson has come up with his latest article, this one being in response to negativity surrounding E-Sports as a career path. See what Cameron has to say and why he thinks you should not give up on E-Sports.
There has been a lot of talk behind the scenes recently about the viability of E-Sports as a long term career, and whether or not it is reasonable to expect a full time career in an industry such as this. With low salaries, many positions being volunteer only, not to mention that to be a professional player you have to compete with hundreds of thousands of like-minded individuals for very few spots on pro-gaming teams. It becomes very daunting for anyone who wishes to give E-Sports a chance.
A few comparisons have been made to mainstream professional sports, and that the same situation presents itself there as well, that a baseball player from Kansas is not going to have an easy time making it to the majors. And if he fails then what? These words of negativity seem to circulate around the same time that players such as, Dario 'TLO' Wunsch, announce decisions to drop out of school and move to Korea in order to follow dreams of becoming a professional gamer.
It is very easy for people to be negative at times like these, especially if they are speaking from personal experience. Truth be told, it is not easy to make your dreams come true, no matter what profession you choose. Any job of any kind, whether you have drams of being a professional Starcraft II player, doctor, lawyer, CEO or professional tennis player, you need training and it takes a lot of work -practice-, passion, devotion and commitment in order to truly succeed. There seems to be a preconceived notion when it comes to someones 'first passion', in this case, E-Sports. E-Sports is labeled a hobby, something people look at as more of a pastime rather than a career, but why? Why is it that people label other peoples passions as a hobby? Starcraft II may be one persons hobby, something they do when they come home from work and play for an hour or two to have some fun; however, the next person might see that same game as an E-Sport. Something more than just a hobby, something they practice for 10 hours a day, perfecting their skills in order to play well for their team and perform in tournaments and leagues.
E-Sports is a hobby to some, and an outlet for passion to others. Different people have different tastes, people should not be ushered into careers they hate just because their passion lied in something different. A lot of people have day jobs they hate, every morning they wake up and they struggle to get out of bed because they simply hate what it is they do for a living. Do you want to wake up each morning serving a boss you hate, in an industry you care nothing about, doing mind numbingly boring work just for a paycheck? Or do you want to wake up each morning ready to take on the world, happy, that you are in an industry you love, doing what you love, with like-minded people?
Following ones dreams is never an easy thing to do, it takes a lot of preparation, dedication, passion and determination. You cannot do anything half-ass when it comes to following your dreams, and you need to be smart about it. Whether that means going to school and getting an education part time while you play competitively, or working part time while going to school full time in order to get that degree to become a lawyer. Following your heart is never as easy as it is in the movies. Many tough situations will arise, but in the end, it will be that much sweeter when you reach your goal and finally achieve your dreams. What it really comes down to is, if you want something, you better fight for it, because no one is just going to hand it to you for nothing.










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what if someone follow his esport dream with dedication and practices a lot , gives up his majors and all that and goes for e sports , but for some reason he doesn't get a spot in the big team ? what is he gonna do then ?? when he is not highly educated (with majors and all that) and he don't get a spot in big teams ?
just something that bothers me when thinking of e-sports career .
Like I said, you should be smart about it. For instance retaining a spot at school and having something keeping you stable. You can manage school (whether full-time or part-time is up to you) and manage to practice and attempt becoming a professional.
I would not suggest dropping out of school in order to become professional unless you already have a solid future as a pro-player. For instance, TLO moved to Korea in order to play professionally, if he did not have that opportunity, and simply wanted that opportunity but had no real prospects, that would be a bad idea in my opinion.
Thanks helped me a lot
Nice one Cam... like always =) love it.
nice write-up; i love this type of aspirational-like articles and i mean there's nothing wrong with dreaming and being passionate about something.
BUT.. always following your passion and going where your heart is, works only in theory and not in practice unfortunately.
as many of you know I live in dubai now, and just the other day I noticed a fatal1ty headset in the computer store - so I got all wet; I was proud that a fellow E-sporter made it happen.
but then again.... how many are there like fatal1ty out there? not to mention... the non-active gamers, all the staffers who bring in the sponsors, the hits on the websites, the websites themselves and so on...
we're far from ideal and that's the reality!
I'm not saying it's easy by any means, and it does take work. I'm just saying, you can have both, and there is no reason for anyone to 'give up' and stray away from what they love to do. Yeah, sure, you might need to work on something else (another job, school, etc.) but there is no reason for anyone to give it up completely and stop trying. It is sad that many people think you need to have some sort of life and leave your dreams behind in order to live 'properly'. The pursuit of happiness : )
yeah true
n1 Cameron.
nice read! good job Cameron!