Follow these tips to successfully build a career in the gaming industry and tap into lucrative opportunities.
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The gaming industry is a rich and diverse field filled with career opportunities in its various sectors. Without a doubt, gaming is one of those top careers for the new decade, as the industry continues to grow around the world, boosted by new technologies and developing markets. Of course, even though this can be a lucrative career path for you, this doesn’t mean that success is a guarantee in gaming because with the rise of an industry comes greater competition and a higher risk of failure for newcomers.
If you’re thinking of pursuing a career in the gaming or retraining for the specific skills you need to build success in this field, then you have to take a calculated approach. There are many reasons why you should go into gaming, but today we are talking about the specific tips that will help you kick-start your journey the right way. Here’s how you can succeed in gaming.
Explore the various careers in gaming
First things first, you need to understand that a career in gaming can mean a variety of different career paths, which is the first obstacle that people encounter in this field. Your priority right now should be to get as much information about the industry as possible in order to expand your horizons and realize the different possibilities. Right now, you might think that gaming only means game development, or you might think that a career in gaming means playing games and uploading to YouTube.
In reality, these are just two of many possibilities. Once you delve deeper into the industry, you will quickly realize that this sector is in demand of a variety of talent and skill sets. Game designers, testers, writers, audio engineers, animators, project managers, software developers, translators, producers, and marketers – are just some of the important positions in a video game company. There are many possibilities here, so take the time to research every position thoroughly.
Training, education, and certification
Given the fact that the gaming industry is becoming more competitive by the day, it’s no surprise that gaming companies, developers, and publishers are always looking for top-tier professionals. Each of the positions we mentioned above, and the ones we didn’t mention, demand a skilled, experienced, and certified individual in the modern gaming industry. If you want to get paid for your work, that is.
Keep in mind that gaming companies also take on interns for training and development in case you don’t have any experience, but that means that you would have to start from the bottom. This is why getting the right online training and certification for a few months prior to applying anywhere is a good idea, as it will allow you to gain some experience and the much-need practical skills to earn a paying job from the start. You are one step away from living a tech dream, you just need to get on working.
Not only that but getting the right training will allow you to boost your performance at work and become a star employee in your team faster. This will help you climb the corporate ladder and keep you growing professionally.
Cloud gaming and why it matters to you
To succeed in the gaming business, you need to stay on top of the latest trends. Currently, the gaming world is raving about cloud technology and its application in the gaming sector. If you’ve heard of Google Stadia and other cloud gaming platforms, then you know what this means – streaming games to your device without paying for the high-priced rigs.
Now, some of the current cloud gaming challenges are quite persistent, and by getting trained and educated in cloud gaming, you can help solve these challenges and thrive in a rising field. Cloud gaming is poised to take over the gaming world in the next decade, but it can’t do that with the persisting latency issues, limited bandwidth, optimization bugs, and other quality-of-gaming challenges that plague the industry. Keep your eye on cloud gaming, realize the potential here for career growth, and consider making it your career goal to become a cloud gaming expert.
A competitive and lucrative environment
Of course, you don’t have to pursue a career in gaming from the angle of a developer or an IT specialist. The gaming industry has a thriving competitive side that you can take advantage of if you love to compete and you have what it takes to match up to the best of the best. That said, don’t expect to grow immediately in this gaming niche, because this is one of the most competitive gaming niches in the world.
Professional competitive gamers earn big on sponsorship deals, endorsements, and tournaments, and there are definitely plenty of competitive games out there that you can try. Keep in mind, though, this is one of the most difficult careers in gaming because to get to the top of the competitive niche, you have to dedicate years to training and honing your skills. The good side though, is that you might get to travel for these tournaments, visit new places and meet fellow gamers. Just make sure you obtain an international driving permit and you are ready to get around freely in any foreign place that you want.
Building a career in playing and streaming games
If you love playing video games as a casual player, on the other hand, you can always explore a career in streaming your gaming sessions. You can record your gameplay and put some of your commentary over it to post to YouTube and other popular platforms, or you can become a streamer on one of the popular streaming services like Twitch. The choice is up to you, but keep in mind that this career path requires much more than good gaming skills.
Streamers and gaming YouTubers are first and foremost entertainers and content creators, so it’s imperative that you develop your unique angle, come up with unique content ideas, and have a unique personal brand. This is the only way to stand out in such an oversaturated field.
Wrapping up
The gaming industry is full of lucrative career opportunities, and now’s the time to start exploring your options. Use these tips to give structure to your career plan and enter the gaming industry as efficiently and effectively as possible in 2021.
