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8 or 9 months have passed since I admited to myself that I needed a change. I even wrote a blog about it, saying what my dreams as a child were and asking if other people related with my problem.
For those who don't know, I've been working as an IT manager for a welding store for seven years now, and I really, REALLY hate it. I've grow sick and tired of dealing with common problems within this field.
As a child what I really wanted was to work with game development but for a lack of support from my parents (working with game development in Brazil was unthinkable back then) and from a lack of enthusiasm and perseverance from myself. In fact, I think that i wasn't sure if that was what I really wanted, but now I know what I really want.
Recently, I've admited what my true dream is, what I crave for and what I'm willing to do in order to try and see if I have what it takes to achieve said dream.
When I was 14yr old (I'm 25 now), I started playing Magic The Gathering. The idea of going pro, playing for a living and travelling the world while playing that beautifull card game aways eluded me. Magic is a expensive game around here, and we don't have many competitive tournaments, in fact, im not sure but i heard that theres a law in Brazil that prevents tournaments giving money as a prize, wich hurt even more the prospect of playing Magic professionaly.
Back then, I took that idea as a dream - and a dream only - but that dream grew within me. I kept playing, kept training and improving, and now, I can say that I'm on a position where I can make the choice of trying to go pro or forget about it.
With MODO (Magic Online), I can become a grinder and make a living out of it. Griding in MODO will allow me to train more, and by doing so, improve my chances at winning a qualifier and entering the Pro Tour.
I know this sounds crazy, and is true that i'm scared as shit but I'm willing to do it. I just want to know, if you were me, what would you do?
Some numbers for help:
Since I live in a small city with a low life cost, the payments here is bellow average for any professions (excluding doctors). I earn a average of 3K USD/ month.
Griding MODO, i can play at least 12 Dailys/ a day. A daily is a tournament with 4 rounds that cost 6 tickets to play (the game coin, 1 ticket = 1 dollar). Players with a record of 4-0 win 11 booster packs and players with a record of 3-1 win 9 packs.
Each pack can be sold for 3.x tickets . Since here in Brazil not so many people has an international credit card to buy tickets, the secondary market is very active. So each ticket can be sold for BRL $2.10 (roughly USD $1).
That said, if I play 12 dailys, and 4-0 50% of them, my daily winnings will be:
cost => 12 * 6 tickets = 72 tickets
earnings => (6 * 11 packs) = 66 packs * 3 tickets each = 198 tickets
profit => 198 - 72 = 126 tickets (=~$126 USD) * $2.10 BRL =~ $264,60 BRL a day
That is, excluding possibles 3-1 records.
So if my math is right... that would be likely 1k USD more that I earn working where I work now.
So, if you were me, what would you do?
  
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Is there anyway you can try to do both for a short period of time? I actually just got back into Magic myself and have been playing on mtgo (modo). I have no aspirations of making any money or anything off of it (I just play for fun) but it seems really hard to win consistently.
I know you don't like your job but that pay seems pretty good for your age and location (I could be wrong). Maybe try working and then grinding modo for a month (when you get home from work) and see if you make anywhere close to what you need for money? I know you wouldn't be able to put in the full time on it, but see if you can make any percentage that is close to the time you do put in (in other words, if you can only put in 30% of the time you could full-time, see if you make around 30% of the money you would doing it full time).
It seems incredibly risky, and it isn't that easy to cash out of modo (you usually have to spend a little money to get your money out). I'd try to grind a month and see if you get anywhere close to the results you are hoping for.
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This sounds a little like BS to me...
You said you don't have a lot of tournaments, yet you're convinced you'd crush the online games: where's your confidence coming from? If it's anything like poker, online games are multiple times harder than live shit.
My advice is, try it but in a controlled manner. Try playing some dailies after work, weekends etc. There's no reason to quit your job only to find out you've been delusional. By taking it slowly, and proving to yourself you can do it, it will be easier to make a final decision.
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We have like 3 PTQs each season, 1 GP/year and WMCQ. I'm always top 16 in them (in the last year my worst position was a top 32 (finished 20th).
My confidence comes from the fact that in live events I only lose against other grinders or people who can put more time into training than me... So I'm thinking that If I train the same amount of time as them, my chances will improve. Ofc I may be wrong but thats what I feel right now.
On the other side, I already play like 1 or 2 dailys a day when I can because magic online schedule times suck in my timezone (im only able to play the 24pm but i have wake up like 5am to work) and been hiting multiples 4-0 and 3-1.
Btw, I should mentioned his before: I'm just thinking about going pro because I'll be able to quit my job and focus only on magic for one year. I saved enough money to live 2~3 years but I'll focus one year on trying to become pro or at least have a reasonable profit from grinding.
If I can't accomplish any of that I'll forget about this and find a new job. At least i'll know if I'm capable or not.
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don't know about your field, but is it going to be easy to find a new job after not having worked in the field for 2-3 years?
what if you try to back but all of a sudden you can't?
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i'm brazilian as well (oi!), and i think it's rlly cool you do something like that.
i dont know if that's cuz we are in our 20's, but it seems pretty dumb to me to spend a lifetime in a carreer you actually hate, so, go for it!
I'm not trying to say "YOLO LOLOLOL" and shit like that, but, you are young (25 anos é novão ainda) and can spare 1 year of life to pursue your DREAM, specially if you have money saved up to live 3 years without working at all... in my opinion those are the perfect conditions to try and go pro in the thing you love.
Also, who said that u'll be obligated to play for a year? Maybe u'll see withing 3 months that's not your thing, or u dont make enough money to sustain yourself (embora na minha opinião, se vc fizer metade do seu salário atual jogando magic, acredito que vc vá ser muito mais feliz do que é atualmente), or even maybe, after playing for 3 months, you find out it CAN BE DONE, and u can make enough money off of it and just be happy with ur new choice 
We gotta take advantage of our strenghts while we are young enough to do it, 50 year old ppl dont have the guts to make such a drastic change about their lifestyle, but i think it's better for you to do it now, then regret it years later.
Boa sorte amigo, tenho certeza que vai dar certo pra você, mesmo que faça menos dinheiro, a chance de vc ser feliz fazendo o que gosta é muito maior do que ganhando 6 mil reais por mês trampando num lugar que você absolutamente odeia.
No final das contas, na pior hipótese, você vai quebrar a cara, descobrir que vc não é tão bom em Magic (rs!) e perder dinheiro... mas daqui 60 anos vai poder dizer pros seus netos
"Acredita que quando eu tinha a sua idade eu abri mão da estabilidade financeira por 1 ano e corri atrás do meu sonho? E apesar de ter sido um ano de completo fracasso, foi o ano mais feliz da minha vida"
Seja qual for a sua decisão, to torcendo por você! =D
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Hey Galfi, are you from the old msn chat group StarCraft II? If so, it's me! HeadacheMan! I remember talking about SC and gastronomy with someone with your nick haha, if you aren't that person, my apologies.
Anyway, thanks for your opinion man, I really appreciate your words because thats what I'm thinking. I have a urge to know if I can or can't do it and the doubt kills me every single day that i keep working on my current job instead of focusing on magic.
On April 06 2013 03:14 Kalingingsong wrote:
don't know about your field, but is it going to be easy to find a new job after not having worked in the field for 2-3 years?
what if you try to back but all of a sudden you can't?
While it won't be easy, i have some contacts so I can enter the field again...
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I dont know sh1t about magic, but if you think you ll be more happy playing magic, so do it, at least for now, you ar really young you can spare some time to follow your dream!
+ Show Spoiler +Mais um brasileiro aqui!!
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On April 06 2013 03:01 Gleen wrote:
We have like 3 PTQs each season, 1 GP/year and WMCQ. I'm always top 16 in them (in the last year my worst position was a top 32 (finished 20th).
My confidence comes from the fact that in live events I only lose against other grinders or people who can put more time into training than me... So I'm thinking that If I train the same amount of time as them, my chances will improve. Ofc I may be wrong but thats what I feel right now.
On the other side, I already play like 1 or 2 dailys a day when I can because magic online schedule times suck in my timezone (im only able to play the 24pm but i have wake up like 5am to work) and been hiting multiples 4-0 and 3-1.
Btw, I should mentioned his before: I'm just thinking about going pro because I'll be able to quit my job and focus only on magic for one year. I saved enough money to live 2~3 years but I'll focus one year on trying to become pro or at least have a reasonable profit from grinding.
If I can't accomplish any of that I'll forget about this and find a new job. At least i'll know if I'm capable or not.
My biggest thing, is that even the Pro Tour players, mostly have day jobs. Nobody is making Millions in Magic.
Playing Magic online, and using those tourneys as your income, ya it might be possible for you to scrape out a living, but you have to decide if you want to scrape by and have a profession you love, or if you should get a more serious job.
Chasing the dream and living the dream is awsome, until you are 50 years old with nothing to your name but an income similar to a McDonalds employee.
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he said he's gonna do it for a year, he's 25 years old now, if when he turns 26 he realizes he doesnt make enough cash he'll just search for a regular job again, it's that simple... would should he wait till he's 50 to realize he has a miserable life lols??
Sou eu sim head, eae mano!! :DDDD blz?? eufhsufhuse
Vai com fé nesse seu projeto aí cara, mesmo que tu faça 1k jogando magic... sei lá se isso te sustentaria, mas acho que vc seria mais feliz... depois de 1 ano ganhando 1k por mês, vc avalia se é isso que vc quer ou não né, porque as vzes o dinheiro realmente faz falta e vc resolve voltar pra um trampo parecido com o que vc tem hoje.
Mas eu sinceramente acho que você é novo, tem dinheiro, energia e tempo sobrando, e seu sonho não é difícil de ser alcançado, na verdade você só precisar de um computador, então gogogogo, planeja isso certinho, vê quando vc vai dar seu aviso prévio e começa a engrenar sua vida pro próximo ano.
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On April 07 2013 04:19 Galfi wrote:
he said he's gonna do it for a year, he's 25 years old now, if when he turns 26 he realizes he doesnt make enough cash he'll just search for a regular job again, it's that simple... would should he wait till he's 50 to realize he has a miserable life lols??
Yeah, that applies to everything in life in my opinion. If you are unhappy about something then change it, even if you aren't 100% sure that your follow up move will work out. If it doesn't work out, change it again. I don't know anything about working as an IT manager and I can't really give any advice personally, but if you feel it in your guts that the change is the correct thing to do then you should go for it!
It's important that you don't fool yourself into being stubborn and sticking to it though, if you realize that this step to make money with Magic is not working out for you after a year or whatever time it takes (financially, socially, and most importantly because M:GC could get boring/meaningless for you over time) then you should stop doing that too and approach something else.
There is nothing more sad than being unhappy and not changing anything, so chasing dreams is a good thing in my opinion. Only by chasing dreams you can make them true or false, but you will never know unless you actually chase them.
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Head meu lindo, se você realmente é bom e acha que dá pra seguir nessa aí vai na fé, você tá estável por uns 2 anos, qualquer coisa dá tempo de voltar atrás. Mas se você não quer se arriscar tanto acho que tentar conciliar os 2 por um tempo pra ter uma noção melhor de como as coisas tão indo seria legal também.
Go for it <3
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It seems like you want to change your job anyway, you have money saved, you know you'll make at least some money, so why not go for it? You don't have to even commit to a year - just do a month and see how it goes. Unlike most of these 'follow my dream' threads, you have very little to lose - you're not dropping out of university or anything life changing.
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On April 07 2013 03:03 MaestroSC wrote:
My biggest thing, is that even the Pro Tour players, mostly have day jobs. Nobody is making Millions in Magic.
Playing Magic online, and using those tourneys as your income, ya it might be possible for you to scrape out a living, but you have to decide if you want to scrape by and have a profession you love, or if you should get a more serious job.
Chasing the dream and living the dream is awsome, until you are 50 years old with nothing to your name but an income similar to a McDonalds employee.
I agree with you. The majority of pro tour players don't play professionaly. Even if you have pro gold level (wich you'll earn travel expenses and invites for all Pro Tours for the current and next season where you achieved gold level), being a professional magic player won't suffice. You'd need to be at least a platinum level (wich you'll earn all gold benefits plus $3.000 USD for each PT you attend, $1.000 USD if you attend World Cup and $250 for each GP you attend).
Even so, there are some magic players that do have other jobs. The point is: You can't get rich playing Magic. Sure, you can make a living out of it, but geting rich is REALLY hard. I know that at some point probally I'll go for a more stable and riskless job but for now, while I'm young I don't have to be afraid.
On April 07 2013 05:10 Bommes wrote:
Yeah, that applies to everything in life in my opinion. If you are unhappy about something then change it, even if you aren't 100% sure that your follow up move will work out. If it doesn't work out, change it again. I don't know anything about working as an IT manager and I can't really give any advice personally, but if you feel it in your guts that the change is the correct thing to do then you should go for it!
It's important that you don't fool yourself into being stubborn and sticking to it though, if you realize that this step to make money with Magic is not working out for you after a year or whatever time it takes (financially, socially, and most importantly because M:GC could get boring/meaningless for you over time) then you should stop doing that too and approach something else.
There is nothing more sad than being unhappy and not changing anything, so chasing dreams is a good thing in my opinion. Only by chasing dreams you can make them true or false, but you will never know unless you actually chase them.
While the only thing I'm sure is that I'll never get tired of playing Magic because I simply love it, everything else you said is true. By the way, when you said that "There is nothing more sad than being unhappy and not changing anything, so chasing dreams is a good thing in my opinion. Only by chasing dreams you can make them true or false, but you will never know unless you actually chase them"... man, you nailed it.
On April 07 2013 10:37 Tal wrote:
It seems like you want to change your job anyway, you have money saved, you know you'll make at least some money, so why not go for it? You don't have to even commit to a year - just do a month and see how it goes. Unlike most of these 'follow my dream' threads, you have very little to lose - you're not dropping out of university or anything life changing.
Thanks man! I know that I have little to lose but its scary either way.
On April 07 2013 06:13 Vicarious_ wrote:
Head meu lindo, se você realmente é bom e acha que dá pra seguir nessa aí vai na fé, você tá estável por uns 2 anos, qualquer coisa dá tempo de voltar atrás. Mas se você não quer se arriscar tanto acho que tentar conciliar os 2 por um tempo pra ter uma noção melhor de como as coisas tão indo seria legal também.
Go for it <3
Bom eu sou hahaha, as vezes falta um pouco de sorte, mas eu acho que jogo bem, e os resultados ajudam. Um pouco mais de treino, e um poquinho de sorte, ai vai.
Thanks man!
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good luck man, you have this a lot more well thought out than most people who go for their dreams. you can do it!
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EPT
