Six years into esports journalism, Jack covers everything from Rocket League to VALORANT. Hard-stuck in Diamond in both, he’s at least reached Supersonic Legend in getting your favorite pros to say what they’re really thinking. Jack's work can currently be seen on Esports Insider, Hotspawn and GAMINGbible/SPORTbible. He has also previously featured on GGRecon and Dexerto.
Olivia Richman is a seasoned esports journalist who has worked with Inven Global, Esports Illustrated, Esports.gg, and more. As an editor and writer at Esports Insider, she loves telling unique esports stories, especially within the FGC. When not working and gaming, Olivia loves collecting Kirby plush, eating sushi, and driving her cars at the track.
Image Credit: Ferris State University “Professional gaming” is an industry that continues to confuse the masses, but as we move out of the era of billionaire sports-backed ventures closing in esports winter and begin relying on talent bred in the space, where is the pipeline? Can we rely solely on attracting hobbyists to push esports forward with businesses, tournaments, and hundreds of thousands of working roles?
Well, yes, but as with every industry, education will push that even further.
Last month, the BBC did a deep dive into what esports students actually learn at university, and, to little surprise, it’s not all shooting and looting. In fact, an esports degree covers a multitude of different areas within the industry, ranging from event management, broadcasting, player management (including health and nutrition regimes), video production, and psychology.
Yet, they ultimately summarised that: “Education courses can provide a strong foundation for those careers, but practical experience is equally important,” through the voice of Rocket League Commonwealth Games winner India “Alanis” Browne.
The idea of esports degrees isn’t a new phenemenon and has been on the rise for years, with countless universities in the UK offering courses – a quick look on The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) shows 74 available courses to be enrolled in for next year, ranging from broad “Esports” degrees at the University of Staffordshire to the narrower “Esports Enterprise and Management” Diploma of Higher Education courses at the University of Salford.
[Editor’s Note: For us United States dopes, there are plenty of opportunities as well. You can earn a B.S. in Esports Management, Production, and Performance at Harrisburg University, a B.S. in Esports at the University of North Dakota – including specific tracks like coaching and graphic design – and the American Public University (an online college) has a B.S. in Esports. This is just naming a few.]
But these degrees have often been met with resistance for not actually providing young people with career plans, and rather almost predatorily pouncing on a newly coined phrase to attract gamers into spending £30k in the hope that the course can find them an area to advance into.
Ninjas in Pyjamas COO and advisor for the UK Esports Team Committee, Grand Rousseau, previously claimed that the educational route is a financial and timely “waste,” and that students should rather earn degrees in business, production, and media without being pigeon-holed into one industry like esports. In other words, it’s more beneficial to be broader with your degree to cover all basis, rather than speciali…