After making the plunge into the ecosystem myself, in 2017, I found myself telling people this everywhere I went. Whether it was at an industry breakout conference at DreamHack, as a panelist on a YouTuber Zoom discussion, on a college campus speaking to Sports Management students or just in daily conversations with colleagues, I believe ANYONE can and should join the movement.

In an industry that innovates and evolves at exponential speeds, opportunity is everywhere. And if you don’t see the opportunity today, rest well and wake up the next day to digest the headlines. Opportunity will be there!

Gaming is pushing us into world’s exciting and unknown. Proof? A decade ago the NFT didn’t exist, the metaverse was just science fiction and ray tracing, cloud gaming, 4G and Oculus were just babies entering the universe of video games. Today all of these innovations have created vast, unique, exciting opportunities.

This was all news to me as I entered the space four years ago.

Similar to endemic sponsors, those whose services and products directly relate to gaming, such as HyperX headsets or Alienware keyboards, there are jobs, opportunities and careers that are obvious (and very good paying), such as software developers, game designers, audio engineers, computer programmers and testers or quality assurance specialists. This made sense to me, and it still does.

However, what often goes overlooked are the many traditional professions that are now crossing over into gaming and esports due to the sheer volume of business and success of the industry. These professions are critical to the continued evolution and development of the space.

I have often said, “if you are an attorney get involved in gaming and esports! If you are an accountant, a financial advisor or wealth manager, get involved in gaming and esports! If you are in the medical field get involved in gaming and esports!”

In the legal field the need for representation, advice and counsel takes many forms. From intellectual property to licensing agreements, player contracts to mergers & acquisitions and fantasy esports regulation to broadcast agreements, lawyers are understanding a veritable tidal wave of work across the industry.

When it comes to finance, the same issues that have faced traditional sports athletes and entertainers for decades are now prevalent in esports, streaming and content creation. Young, talented people are making a lot of money and, often, they do not know how to manage it. If you gave a 16 year-old $3 million would they, or their parents. know how to handle that. Well, that was Kyle Giersdorf, “Bugha,” after winning the Fortnite World Cup in 2019.

And, regarding the medical field, both preventative and reactive care, as well as physical therapy, mental health and nutrition are all major factors in the overall fitness of the individual athlete and the industry as a whole. It’s a massive segment in an industry that shows no signs of slowing down.

I only offer three examples above because they provide a very clear path to opportunity. However, as the industry continues to evolve and money pours into companies on the cutting edge of innovation, these and many more professions will continue to crossover into esports and gaming. Fields like executive search and recruitment are exploding due to the need for experience, talent and leadership from higher education, as well as other industries. Real estate, construction, data and analytics, transportation, event management, sales, marketing, human resources, operations, teaching, coaching, food and beverage, insurance, retail…

I don’t care what you do, get involved in gaming and esports! Make a difference in the most exciting and dynamic industry on the planet!