Studying esports at university?

Diatribe time:

The older I get, the more bizarre it feels that we trust 17/18 year olds to plot out their futures by picking their own college majors. Many have never paid rent, never paid a bill, and some have never held a job. The vast majority don't even know themselves or have a solid sense of what they want out of life. So we end up with people who pursue pre-law and later law school who find themselves made miserable by the workload of a career lawyer. And we end up with people who pursue degrees that are fun for 4 years but barely help them find stable, livable employment after that.

I wouldn't advocate for taking the option away from them, but it's a major decision with huge financial and life consequences that we give to young people who are usually taking shots in the dark.

And to add to it, public universities, despite their public funding, are always looking to increase revenue and raise enrollments. So they offer and advertise degree programs that are "in demand" without real concern for the long-term usefulness to the student.

E-Sports degree programs seem, to me, to be predatory in intention and too narrowly-defined to be generally useful. If you want to work in the E-Sports business, get a business/marketing/finance/etc degree and try to get internships in the e-sports space. A degree that's more broadly defined will give you flexibility in case you decide you absolutely hate the E-sports business in 5, 10, 15, etc years.

@lab392: I agree and I would like to add to that.

A piece of paper you spent 4 years and thousands and thousands of dollars to obtain should be seen as an investment towards some return for yourself, otherwise if you've got the cash to blow and the free time go ahead and pursue any degree.

What can you even fit into an 'E-sports degree'? Will e-sports even be a thing in a decade, or hell even by the time you order your cap and gown?

I have a college degree and it has been very useful in helping me make far more money than I would have been able to without it, and I would add that the time I spent with such a diverse group of people from all over really helped me grow as a person, but I feel like you really have to treat it with the scrutiny that you would any other very large investment. I think the above advice of something more broad like marketing/finance/mba would do you wonders, and the internships/social networking you do will be far more impactful anyways when it comes to landing a job you really want.

No. Don’t do this to yourself.