EPTAfter all the scene really isn't in the best place when it comes to up and coming players making money or even just making a name for themselves. A year from now however I expect things will be looking up.
Good luck, whatever you decide.
At a Crossroads - Page 2
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Rorra
Australia1066 Posts
After all the scene really isn't in the best place when it comes to up and coming players making money or even just making a name for themselves. A year from now however I expect things will be looking up. Good luck, whatever you decide. | ||
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Nyctophobia
Canada99 Posts
Talk with ROOT staff about it! | ||
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Superiorwolf
United States5509 Posts
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Ghostcom
Denmark4783 Posts
I think you need to ask yourself: Even if I could financially support myself somehow, but I never really accomplished any major tournament wins - would that be enough for me? What would I even define as success and is that goal attainable? I had to make that decision when I was 16/17 years old - now 8 years down the line I must admit that I do not regret my choice at all, but I can obviously only speak for me, and you will have to figure out what is right for you. Speak with as many people as you can, get as many perspectives as you can and then think hard. | ||
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Kuni
Austria765 Posts
Taking one year off, living at the parents' or whatever doesn't seem too bad, but if you plan to invest many many years, you should at least have a milestone somewhere inbetween, say after a year, where you put yourself at a crossroads and ask yourself, whether or not you have achieved that milestone. Something like "Can I now sustain myself financially without being dependend on money from mom and dad?". | ||
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Mr.F.
United States62 Posts
You said you only have one more year of school left, but how much work is actually left in terms of classes? When I was in my final year of undergrad, it was the least stressful year I had, mainly because i decided to take an extra year in undergrad and split most of my classes between 2 years instead of cramming them all in one year. If your senior year is going to be super busy, this could be an option for you. Also, for me it was feasible, because I had full scholarships paying my tuition. Another thing, if you aren't going to have the busiest year ever, and you said you are planning to go to grad school, You could always really crank out your work for the first semester, then apply for schools, of which most of the applications would be due around December, and then when you get into a program defer for a year. Most programs that accept you have conditional options that you are allowed to take a year off and still go the following year. In doing this, you could also relax a bit in your second semester of your senior year, and realistically, you know you aren't going to massively fail any of your classes if you haven't done so up to this point. If you do this, you could easily attempt to go down the road of pro-gaming, but still be completely set with a back-up plan, and if you end up being successful in esports, it's no big deal to eventually decline the grad school offer. on a side note + Show Spoiler + When I finished undergrad I had plenty of professors willing to write me letters of recommendation to pursue any job or school opportunities which came my way. after a year or two of not working closely with any professors, I realized that I didn't personally know any professors who I would want to ask for a letter of recommendation. This is something to consider if you want to go to grad school and are deciding to finish school first then pursue pro-gaming. | ||
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eSen1a
Australia1058 Posts
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DarkPlasmaBall
United States46449 Posts
I agree with this too. Completing your undergraduate degree is something that you'll actually need in the future (after you try out your luck committing to SC2 full time, if you want to), and it always gets harder to go back to school after you've left. Many of my friends always thought they'd finish their degree after they left university (either bachelor's or going back for a graduate degree), but real life kept getting in the way and they never got around to it. I also majored in mathematics, and the longer you wait to complete the higher courses, the more basic math (the calculuses, linear and abstract algebras, other prerequisites, etc.) you'll forget. That being said, I'm impressed that your parents are allowing you this opportunity in the first place. I don't think that means you should drop everything right now and play StarCraft though. I think it would be more responsible to have your degree finished and then try to play, so that you actually have a back up. | ||
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AnachronisticAnarchy
United States2957 Posts
On April 21 2013 14:37 iamho wrote: At 20 years old you should be prioritizing your real career far over Starcraft. Sure you might regret not pursuing progaming. But how much more will you regret becoming a progamer when you realize, months or years after living in a progaming house, that you have no money, no assets, and diminished employability? Will you even be able to support yourself without welfare once you leave progaming? On top of that, the overwhelming majority of progamers never have any real success, tournaments or winnings-wise, its not realistic to think of yourself as the exception. A good counter to that last bit is that there are still exceptions, and if they all thought like that, they wouldn't be where they are today. Of course, it doesn't negate the fact that his odds of being a prodigy are poor. | ||
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Nymphaceae
United States350 Posts
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Capped
United Kingdom7236 Posts
Play starcraft as a hobby untill you finish your undergrad and then go for pro. Honestly this is the best option, if going pro ends up failing (not that it will) then theres your open door at the end of it. You dont see yourself going back to education i understand but Esports is a child of a business to be getting into, there are lots of prospective jobs but very few vacancies. If you end up getting shafted you have school to go back to and finish your studies. Never leave yourself without an option B and never let your dreams die. Those are two things that are important (and also rule out 1 and 3. ^_^) EDIT: Also i dont know the american education system, is it possible to do all the work for your undergrad early? I studied while i worked and me and my wife made a split decision to move to sri lanka, so in order for me to go there with the best chance i had, i finished an 18 month course in 9 months (i rushed the last 5 months so 5/14 it took me.) and another 12 month course in management in the same 5 months. I think i was working 8 hour shifts and putting 6 hours a night of work in with 12 on weekends but it was worth it. (And it really wasnt that hard, i still had a few hours everyday for relaxing.) Honestly devoting yourself to your studies 100% and finishing them quicker is a great thing to do, if its an option. | ||
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Aterons_toss
Romania1275 Posts
- If after 1 year of just playing casually you are not good enough to get back into it, you are likely not talented enough to gamble away your carer right now, if you are talented enough to get back into it a compete at a pro level than you also have something to fall back on thus less pressure... it's a win/win - If the Korean scene actually gets big enough during HOTS so that "foreign" player become left out and practice will happen in Seoul and Seoul only than you dodged a huge bullet... unless you have no problem leaving America and traveling to a foreign country that has a very different culture and staying there for years with people that you can barely speak with You might think you like starcraft now because you don't play it as much and don't think of it as a job, but once you start playing 10 hours a day you might find it less fun and you might find yourself not being able to practice as well in that kind of "focused" mental environment due to the pressure you fell to win now that your pay depends on it, and considering the fact that anyone that's worth something as far as opinion about starcraft goes says that people will need to play 10-14 hours to actually compete with KESPA player that do practice for that amount of time. You really have to ask yourself if you enjoy starcraft from a strategic point of view or if you would actually like to repeat builds and practice macro for 8 hours straight so that you can get small advantages here and there and win a high level game, because throwing away a top-grades college diploma, even in today's economy, seems like a huge decision to make for a chance to be able to make a bellow average salary by working over 10 hours a day... even if said work is playing a video game. Why not just wait 1 more year so that in doing so you can fall back on that diploma ? I don't think most employers would mind a 1 or 2 years gap as long as you can throw in some bs as to why it's there. | ||
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Dorjan
United Kingdom51 Posts
I made it in eSports, not as a player but as a video producer and shout aster. The reason I bring this up is that you don't have to be locked into one thing. As a pro-gamer you'll have employment and life lessons that many others won't. You will be able to develop a personality and earn money other than winnings. Look at whitera... Doesn't need winnings and is living fine. in other words, finish your studies with your chosen career in your own time. Follow what you want to do in life but also think what that really is. Be happy. Live life like you only have one  | ||
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HeeroFX
United States2704 Posts
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jackstitties
United States43 Posts
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lovelyrose
Canada160 Posts
though, just make whatever decision feels right at the time. everyone has different advice, and a different way of looking at it. if you truly think you need to quit school to chase your dreams, and make progaming work, maybe you should do it. I'd just say to rethink whether quitting school a necessity to be happy, and to pursue a career in progaming. | ||
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Pokebunny
United States10654 Posts
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Meadowlark
United States349 Posts
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-Kaiser-
Canada932 Posts
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Teodice
Sweden641 Posts
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