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Goodness, someone with a brain. I let out a sigh of relief when you said "I need to create a firm fail condition". I think anyone who gets really involved with sc2 gets the urge to want to go pro, and I think anyone who wants it should try it, but with strict and set goals and check points.
I personally considered it as well this past summer, with 1 year of college to go. I said I'll play during the summer (why not) and if I end summer in top masters(playing with GMs or known players) or GM, I'll try to go pro. At the time I was top plat edging into diamond, and I think if I had the capability to go from gold league to top masters in 5 months of total play, pro seems like a feasible option. I ended up low-mid masters, and my plan now is to graduate, get a job trading, and play casually. Still striving for top masters or to play a pro on the ladder, and I dream of running a successful stream, but acknowledging that I probably don't have the skill to be full pro, even though I am still VERY confident in my work ethic and willingness to learn, and 12 hours a day every day is cake walk(though I didn't do it for the 3 months of summer). That and I realize I would be unhappy with 30k a year until I was 35, (probably averaging to 40k with any wins/stream rev/sponsors/paid expenses) and not having any fully developed skills once I had to retire.
As long as you have a back up plan, and the risks are relatively small, I don't see a reason why you shouldn't pursue. Being able to test the waters is a wonderful opportunity to have.
If you decide to give it a go, I'm curious to see how you do. Shoot me a PM/make another blog in 6 months with the results? :D
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On November 28 2011 13:22 tgun wrote:
Thanks for the shoutout dude. My advice is, after you finish your Comp. Science degree, set aside one or two weeks, and just play for a solid 10-12 hours a day, every day. Weekends, maybe take it a few hours easier, but you have to still be on. If you get through that alright, and you're still willing to keep going, then maybe extend it to a year? However, you always want to set yourself a definitive finish date, and goals.
Yea will definitely do that. One thing about being a comp sci major is that having well-specified deliverables on laid out timelines is a most important thing XD.
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When I started college the first time...many many years ago, I was a theatre major.
I had a professor that told me, "I don't believe in backup plans." If you want to do this, you will put it on the line. If you have a "backup plan," you will never make it in the theatre.
I ended up dropping out, lol. However, if this is your passion, do it. Constantly re-examine and re-evaluate what you are doing. Be honest in your trying and when, with a clear head, not in the heat of the moment, can see it's time to stop, then stop.
Plans are great, but it is amazing how easily they can be disrupted. Work towards what you want and be honest with yourself. You wouldn't blindly follow a build order, despite what your opponent is doing. Go with the opportunities that open up and adapt.
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On November 28 2011 23:00 techempage wrote:
When I started college the first time...many many years ago, I was a theatre major.
I had a professor that told me, "I don't believe in backup plans." If you want to do this, you will put it on the line. If you have a "backup plan," you will never make it in the theatre.
I ended up dropping out, lol. However, if this is your passion, do it. Constantly re-examine and re-evaluate what you are doing. Be honest in your trying and when, with a clear head, not in the heat of the moment, can see it's time to stop, then stop.
Plans are great, but it is amazing how easily they can be disrupted. Work towards what you want and be honest with yourself. You wouldn't blindly follow a build order, despite what your opponent is doing. Go with the opportunities that open up and adapt.
Yep, my basic requirements until the first checkpoint are relatively fluid. The only iron-hard requirement is that by the time I reach the checkpoint, I'm in a position where at least my room and board are covered in a pro house. I really think I need to be in one if I'm going to all in on this.
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The economy sucks and you seriously want to delay finding a job to see if you can go pro. That is dumb. College isn't particularly time consuming. If you can't crack GM by now with all the free time that college affords, it isn't happening and a pro team isn't calling.
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At least you're getting a degree, and you're already in masters (much better than the "I'm going pro, dropping out of school...oh btw, I'm in Platnium league" heros), so it isn't that bad of an idea if you really want it.
Here is a little motivational quote from IdrA: (lol, I feel like I'm preaching a religion -- Grackenism)
On September 27 2010 12:19 IdrA wrote:
until the very very top, in almost anything, all that matters is how much work you put in, the only problem is most people cant work hard even at things they do enjoy, much less things they dont have a real passion for.
Also, IdrA said that the only way to get better is to play a lot. Don't do micro drills, macro drills, ect. Just play a lot of games. Simple as that.
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On November 29 2011 00:27 Hawk wrote:
The economy sucks and you seriously want to delay finding a job to see if you can go pro. That is dumb. College isn't particularly time consuming. If you can't crack GM by now with all the free time that college affords, it isn't happening and a pro team isn't calling.
My college free time hasn't gone heavily into 1v1 practice in Starcraft. Across all my accounts combined since release, I might have gotten enough games in to get a Tassadar icon (1k wins), maybe. Ladder has also been my primary source of 1v1 practice thus far, so by no means have I put in a huge effort in this regard yet. I don't believe I am near a hard plateau yet.
I know I am very close in skill with the lower end of GM. Other than by rating, I've played a lot of GMs/pros on ladder, in practice, in tourneys, and I've done quite decently. I do believe I can be GM within 3 months, maybe even faster if I can get a lot of really good practice partners who are a bit above my skill level.
Of course what I've said so far also brings into question commitment. As tgun suggested, I am going to experiment for a couple weeks to see if I can actually stick to a pro practice schedule. Only if that works will I go ahead.
I suppose the reason I am so reluctant to let go of this desire is that despite being a comp sci major, I've never really felt alive outside the sphere of competition, even since as a child. Coding and normal work just make me feel so dead really. Given some new developments, my current deadline would be August 1. I know no pro team is calling right now. If that's still the case on August 1, I will forget about all this and find a normal job.
As I said in response to a previous poster's question, I've got absolutely no student debt and this is financially feasible for me. Is the opportunity cost of trying this until August 1 really so great that I should simply abandon this dream before even attempting it?
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Talk to anyone who has graduated recently and is looking for a job. Yes.
Even if by some miracle you got recruited to a team over the people in GM, a couple hundred bucks a month in salary and meager winnings should you even emerge in the money in tournies vs what you could be making with a job and advancing yourself in a career, it is a no brainer
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On November 29 2011 03:28 Hawk wrote:
Talk to anyone who has graduated recently and is looking for a job. Yes.
Even if by some miracle you got recruited to a team over the people in GM, a couple hundred bucks a month in salary and meager winnings should you even emerge in the money in tournies vs what you could be making with a job and advancing yourself in a career, it is a no brainer
if you get accepted into a good/big team don't they actually house you?
@OP
I also have the hardcore spirit in competing. I love to win and when I lose something I feel very defeated lol. But it only motivates me to do better next time. Since you have that, I think you'll do well. 1 year is a good amount of time, I think, and I would say you are quite quite fortunate to be able to try your dream for 1 year. I also have the similar fear of working in a "boring" job, in something that doesn't interest me and that only makes me good money. I feel like it'll be like school 2.0 all over again, and I will hate waking up in the morning, and I will feel so unfocused at work.
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On November 29 2011 03:28 Hawk wrote:
Talk to anyone who has graduated recently and is looking for a job. Yes.
Even if by some miracle you got recruited to a team over the people in GM, a couple hundred bucks a month in salary and meager winnings should you even emerge in the money in tournies vs what you could be making with a job and advancing yourself in a career, it is a no brainer
I was actually going to write out a long-winded post of why your statement is fucking ridiculous, but I guess i'll settle for this;
Let people follow their fucking dreams, at least for a year. The effect of looking back and thinking "what if" is one of the worst fucking feelings and you can end up hating yourself for it. Alternatively, after you get your degree, you can pretty much fall back on it and get a job at any stage.
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On November 29 2011 08:01 Yoshi Kirishima wrote:Show nested quote +On November 29 2011 03:28 Hawk wrote:
Talk to anyone who has graduated recently and is looking for a job. Yes.
Even if by some miracle you got recruited to a team over the people in GM, a couple hundred bucks a month in salary and meager winnings should you even emerge in the money in tournies vs what you could be making with a job and advancing yourself in a career, it is a no brainer if you get accepted into a good/big team don't they actually house you? @OP I also have the hardcore spirit in competing. I love to win and when I lose something I feel very defeated lol. But it only motivates me to do better next time. Since you have that, I think you'll do well. 1 year is a good amount of time, I think, and I would say you are quite quite fortunate to be able to try your dream for 1 year. I also have the similar fear of working in a "boring" job, in something that doesn't interest me and that only makes me good money. I feel like it'll be like school 2.0 all over again, and I will hate waking up in the morning, and I will feel so unfocused at work.
Only very few teams have actual training houses. Actually, there is something of that nature in the works coming up that I will be involved in... which is why I've set to deadline to August 1. More on that soonish (in like a month or two).
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On November 29 2011 08:15 tgun wrote:Show nested quote +On November 29 2011 03:28 Hawk wrote:
Talk to anyone who has graduated recently and is looking for a job. Yes.
Even if by some miracle you got recruited to a team over the people in GM, a couple hundred bucks a month in salary and meager winnings should you even emerge in the money in tournies vs what you could be making with a job and advancing yourself in a career, it is a no brainer I was actually going to write out a long-winded post of why your statement is fucking ridiculous, but I guess i'll settle for this; Let people follow their fucking dreams, at least for a year. The effect of looking back and thinking "what if" is one of the worst fucking feelings and you can end up hating yourself for it. Alternatively, after you get your degree, you can pretty much fall back on it and get a job at any stage.
Yea, I really don't like the "what if" feeling, and this is the one thing right now that I feel I will have a very big "what if" later on life if I don't try it at all. I really feel like it will result in some normal, good, but boring job, because the one path I wanted to try most I ignored and tossed away.
Of course I always have to keep definite goals and deadlines in mind, or else things can snowball into something that it shouldn't be.
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On November 29 2011 08:25 EtherealDeath wrote:Show nested quote +On November 29 2011 08:15 tgun wrote:On November 29 2011 03:28 Hawk wrote:
Talk to anyone who has graduated recently and is looking for a job. Yes.
Even if by some miracle you got recruited to a team over the people in GM, a couple hundred bucks a month in salary and meager winnings should you even emerge in the money in tournies vs what you could be making with a job and advancing yourself in a career, it is a no brainer I was actually going to write out a long-winded post of why your statement is fucking ridiculous, but I guess i'll settle for this; Let people follow their fucking dreams, at least for a year. The effect of looking back and thinking "what if" is one of the worst fucking feelings and you can end up hating yourself for it. Alternatively, after you get your degree, you can pretty much fall back on it and get a job at any stage. Yea, I really don't like the "what if" feeling, and this is the one thing right now that I feel I will have a very big "what if" later on life if I don't try it at all. I really feel like it will result in some normal, good, but boring job, because the one path I wanted to try most I ignored and tossed away. Of course I always have to keep definite goals and deadlines in mind, or else things can snowball into something that it shouldn't be.
I agree, I am also set on "risking" things to achieve my dreams. After all, if you somehow find you don't wanna keep doing it, then you can happily live on your "fallback" knowing that it is a good thing you tried but realized it's not for you and without any regrets.
@ttgun
Perhaps it is a myth but my family/brothers have told me some people have problem finding jobs if they're not employed for a few years. Employers may think there is something wrong with you that other employers have found and hence you do not have a job. Is this mostly false? A lot of college registration deadlines are in a few days, so if I want to find any more colleges to apply to to suit my new plan of doing my dream and have a back up (music, and finance/business) now is the time to do that. If that "myth" is false as it seems to be according to your post, I will be GREATLY relieved and be able to move on forward with confidence and happiness <3
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On November 29 2011 08:40 Yoshi Kirishima wrote:Show nested quote +On November 29 2011 08:25 EtherealDeath wrote:On November 29 2011 08:15 tgun wrote:On November 29 2011 03:28 Hawk wrote:
Talk to anyone who has graduated recently and is looking for a job. Yes.
Even if by some miracle you got recruited to a team over the people in GM, a couple hundred bucks a month in salary and meager winnings should you even emerge in the money in tournies vs what you could be making with a job and advancing yourself in a career, it is a no brainer I was actually going to write out a long-winded post of why your statement is fucking ridiculous, but I guess i'll settle for this; Let people follow their fucking dreams, at least for a year. The effect of looking back and thinking "what if" is one of the worst fucking feelings and you can end up hating yourself for it. Alternatively, after you get your degree, you can pretty much fall back on it and get a job at any stage. Yea, I really don't like the "what if" feeling, and this is the one thing right now that I feel I will have a very big "what if" later on life if I don't try it at all. I really feel like it will result in some normal, good, but boring job, because the one path I wanted to try most I ignored and tossed away. Of course I always have to keep definite goals and deadlines in mind, or else things can snowball into something that it shouldn't be. I agree, I am also set on "risking" things to achieve my dreams. After all, if you somehow find you don't wanna keep doing it, then you can happily live on your "fallback" knowing that it is a good thing you tried but realized it's not for you and without any regrets. @ttgun Perhaps it is a myth but my family/brothers have told me some people have problem finding jobs if they're not employed for a few years. Employers may think there is something wrong with you that other employers have found and hence you do not have a job. Is this mostly false? A lot of college registration deadlines are in a few days, so if I want to find any more colleges to apply to to suit my new plan of doing my dream and have a back up (music, and finance/business) now is the time to do that. If that "myth" is false as it seems to be according to your post, I will be GREATLY relieved and be able to move on forward with confidence and happiness <3
As far as I understand, it would depend on the degree. While a lot of employers are hellbent on everyone having 3 years experience and whatnot, degrees in things like comp. science are changing very, very constantly and a lot of stuff becomes outdated very fast, thus why they value order degrees without experience less.
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On November 29 2011 08:15 tgun wrote:Show nested quote +On November 29 2011 03:28 Hawk wrote:
Talk to anyone who has graduated recently and is looking for a job. Yes.
Even if by some miracle you got recruited to a team over the people in GM, a couple hundred bucks a month in salary and meager winnings should you even emerge in the money in tournies vs what you could be making with a job and advancing yourself in a career, it is a no brainer I was actually going to write out a long-winded post of why your statement is fucking ridiculous, but I guess i'll settle for this; Let people follow their fucking dreams, at least for a year. The effect of looking back and thinking "what if" is one of the worst fucking feelings and you can end up hating yourself for it. Alternatively, after you get your degree, you can pretty much fall back on it and get a job at any stage.
There's plenty wrong with your statement too. The 'what if' feeling can occur no matter what you do. It's a moot point since you could feel that way about any course of action later down the track, and there's no way you can know whether you will.
I'm less inclined to go on the attack with this particular OP, though, since he sounds like he's given it a lot of thought and since he'll have a degree.
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On November 29 2011 09:59 Swede wrote:Show nested quote +On November 29 2011 08:15 tgun wrote:On November 29 2011 03:28 Hawk wrote:
Talk to anyone who has graduated recently and is looking for a job. Yes.
Even if by some miracle you got recruited to a team over the people in GM, a couple hundred bucks a month in salary and meager winnings should you even emerge in the money in tournies vs what you could be making with a job and advancing yourself in a career, it is a no brainer I was actually going to write out a long-winded post of why your statement is fucking ridiculous, but I guess i'll settle for this; Let people follow their fucking dreams, at least for a year. The effect of looking back and thinking "what if" is one of the worst fucking feelings and you can end up hating yourself for it. Alternatively, after you get your degree, you can pretty much fall back on it and get a job at any stage. There's plenty wrong with your statement too. The 'what if' feeling can occur no matter what you do. It's a moot point since you could feel that way about any course of action later down the track, and there's no way you can know whether you will. I'm less inclined to go on the attack with this particular OP, though, since he sounds like he's given it a lot of thought and since he'll have a degree.
And still giving it thought ><
I have a really really strong feeling that I will regret the "what if" for this particular thing should I choose not to try. I'm not one to have such feelings, and honestly I never have. But this is different... have been considering it for a while now.
I mean, what's the worst thing that could come out of this?
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It's just like Nal Ra's oldboy. Go for it.
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On November 29 2011 10:28 iSometric wrote:
It's just like Nal Ra's oldboy. Go for it.
Not quite... he had already won an MSL in the past lol.
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On November 29 2011 10:35 EtherealDeath wrote:Show nested quote +On November 29 2011 10:28 iSometric wrote:
It's just like Nal Ra's oldboy. Go for it. Not quite... he had already won an MSL in the past lol.
well i think the points is that he trained all that time, and didn't even get back in
So like you said, what's the worst thing that can happen? you don't have any huge student loans, and you have an education  If you know CS I assume you know computer programming too? you could make websites for people on the side if you really need it, like either while you're focusing on sc2 or for while you look for a job if you give up sc2.
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With a few new developments soon to come in mind this morning when I woke up (they will start around jan-feb), I think I am now 99.9% certain I am going to go through with this, with August 1 being the deadline.
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EPT
