A company is charging $400 for an esports certification exam, and it has a lot of industry support
A company called the Esports Certification Institute appeared this week with an offer: Pay $299.95 (normally $399.95) to take an exam. If you pass, you'll earn a certification that tells employers in the esports industry that you understand the esports scene and grasp basic business terms, marketing concepts, and statistical problems. The ECI says that getting certified can help you get noticed and find your esports "dream job."
The certification has support from a number of esports organization CEOs and professionals, though many other observers aren't convinced that a $400 certification exam is something entry level job applicants need on their résumés.
"This makes no sense," wrote Beastcoast co-CEO Brian Anderson on Twitter. "What could possibly be on this exam where I, as a[n] org CEO, would feel like someone who passes it would be exceptionally more qualified then someone else."
Others expressed the view that the ECI and its exam are fundamentally unfair and harmful.
"Hoping this gets memed on for a minute and then rightfully disappears into obscurity," said Team Liquid digital producer Patrick Coyne. "Happy to see a lot of industry professionals speaking out against this shameless and predatory cash grab."
ECI co-founder Ryan Friedman, who previously worked at esports orgs Dignitas, Clutch, and Immortals, says his goal isn't to create a barrier to working in esports, but to remove barriers—including financial barriers. He got into the esports business through luck and an unpaid internship, he says, which isn't fair: "People ought to be paid to work." In Friedman's view, a certification exam will get qualified entry-level job applicants the attention they deserve among a huge number of other applicants, even if they don't have professional experience and can't afford to spend months or years interning.
But the industry is still young, and companies are by-and-large still building. Even today, many do not have the infrastructure nor executive will to support in-depth HR processes to vet thousands of applicants. Asa result, the space tends to overvalue previous experience
"Even today, many [esports companies] do not have the infrastructure nor executive will to support in-depth HR processes to vet thousands of applicants," wrote Friedman on Twitter. "As a result, the space tends to overvalue previous experience."
But the industry is still young, and companies are by-and-large still building. Even today, many do not have the infrastructure nor executive will to support in-depth HR processes to vet thousands of applicants. Asa result, the space tends to overvalue previous experience
"Even today, many [esports companies] do not have the infrastructure nor executive will to support in-depth HR processes to vet thousands of applicants," wrote Friedman on Twitter. "As a result, the space tends to overvalue previous experience."
It's all about who you know, in other words, while the ECI is a "more meritocratic method for evaluating talent," Friedman says. To the argument that having $400 to spend on a test is hardly an indication of merit, Friedman says that scholarships will be offered. (Roughly how many people will be offered the exam for free hasn't been stated. I have asked.)
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