In 2009, you all helped me win my first job out of college via voting! I saved up some money from that 1-year contract and made a YouTube channel for fun:
http://www.youtube.com/AskJoshy
I was commentating competitive games of StarCraft II because I loved the game, had beta access, had radio experience, and video editing experience. I had a blast being my own boss and turned the channel into a profitable one. At my peak in 2011, I was getting ~600,000 views per month and hit 56,000 subscribers!
In 2011, my game knowledge and marketing degree landed me a job at IGN.com working on the "IGN Pro League," a professional StarCraft II tournament series. We eventually added other games like League of Legends and in August 2012, I sealed a huge deal with a new game called ShootMania that didn't end up becoming popular. However, it did earn me a trip to Paris which was awesome. I commentated two live tournaments in Las Vegas and San Francisco before IPL closed its doors in April 2013.
But all was not lost! Blizzard Entertainment, the studio that makes World of Warcraft, Diablo, and of course StarCraft, hired 25 or so IPL folks and I ended up as an Associate eSports Manager there. This month I celebrated two years with the company, and it's the job that I've held longest.
As I write this, I am sitting in a rehearsal for a collegiate Heroes of the Storm tournament called "Heroes if the Dorm." It will make television history on Sunday when it is broadcast live on ESPN2!
http://www.heroesofthedorm.com
If you want to follow along with the cool eSports stuff I get into, follow me on Twitter at
http://www.twitter.com/AskJoshy
Next month I am hoping to meet fellow EoFFer eestlinc at a Magic: the Gathering tournament in Las Vegas! : D