Remember how our moms used to scold us for keeping the computer on all night while we played games? “You’d better do something useful instead of ruining your eyesight!” they said. But time puts everything in its place — and in 2025, those thousands of hours spent in front of a screen can actually become the key to a successful career.
Game-related professions pay off: the average salary in Ukrainian gamedev is around $2,500. Ukrainian gaming companies are now at the forefront of the global market, and they’re eager to find like-minded people who understand the industry and the products that drive it. So, it’s the perfect time to think about turning your passion into a career. In this article, teammates from MOJAM — a Kharkiv-based company connected to the gaming world — share how they went from ordinary players to industry pros, and offer advice on how you can follow the same path.
Starter Pack for Switching Careers 🎒
So, your eyes are already glowing at the thought of earning money by gaming — but a logical question arises: how do you actually get into the industry? No one knows better than those who’ve already hit mission complete. Here’s everything you need to keep in focus about switching into the gaming field, straight from the PROs at MOJAM.
How Can Your “Played Hours” Become An Advantage?
A common trait among many MOJAMers is their lifelong love for gaming — meaning thousands of hours spent behind the screen.
Our teammate Sasha from the Product Team highlights:
“Point 1: games require a lot of special skills. Communication skills, the ability to find common ground with people, organize them, and convince them to believe in you. Planning — even within a single game round — is still planning. It’s about analyzing previous rounds and building a strategy for the next one using the skills from point 1.”
That’s a huge advantage for your CV if you’re aiming to work in the industry because:
Such candidates don’t need to be taught the basics of game mechanics or have it explained to them how a shooter differs from a MOBA.
You understand player psychology — meaning you know what kind of features or content they actually want. It’s hard to design characters or plan an SMM campaign for a new release if you’re clueless about your audience’s tastes and motivations.
Many games rely on teamwork, even when emotions run high. If you’ve played multiplayer games, you already know the importance of roles, strategy, and collaboration. That experience directly translates into advanced soft skills!
Gamers are used to adapting to new mechanics or patches on the fly — so learning a new programming language or tool likely won’t be much of a challenge for you either.
Junior Influence Marketing Specialist Kyrylo landed an offer from MOJAM thanks to his impressive knowledge of CS. Of course, recruiters paid attention to his potential and preparation — but his genuine passion for the game was the decisive factor that got him on board.
“I met some guys who played professionally at a tournament, and they invited me to join their league. It was broadcasted — people even placed bets on our matches online. I played non-stop for about a year and a half to two years, and later, while at university, I even started earning money through it. I learned about the opportunity at MOJAM from my teammate Danya. I saw his trophies from the company’s internal tournaments, and I wanted to dig deeper. I applied for a junior position at MOJAM without any marketing experience at all, but they hired me because of my Counter-Strike skills — which turned out to be a huge advantage. So, my strong desire to learn and grow, combined with my understanding of gaming, helped me land a job in the industry.”
Tournaments — a Core Experience 🎯
Take part in tournaments of any level — from amateur to professional — to gain a deeper understanding of the game and make valuable connections.
Sasha from the Product Team, for instance, founded a full-fledged university esports organization called NAU Stewards during his first year of studies. 🔥
“We had three teams — Dota 2, LoL, and CS:GO. The CS:GO and LoL teams even became Ukrainian student champions. The university supported our drive to grow; we even had our own training room with modern setups. That was probably my first successful project — where communication, negotiation skills, and esports market expertise brought an absolutely tremendous result.”
Becoming a professional esports player, however, is a bigger challenge. “Breaking through” is almost impossible due to the fierce competition — the number of people chasing that dream grows every year. But Product Designer Oleh’s experience shows that the skills you gain on that path can still take you far if you channel them into a related field:
“My first step was to reach level 10 on Faceit solo to test myself — to see if I could really play well. It took me two years (before CS, I mostly played MMORPGs, not shooters). After that, I found a team and started joining small tournaments on FastCup, but soon realized that breaking into pro esports is insanely difficult. So I decided to focus on my other passion — design, which I’d been doing since 2014. I worked at different companies, but often didn’t feel that spark — the projects just weren’t that exciting. Everything changed when I saw a job opening at MOJAM mentioning CS. I instantly got fired up, completed the test task, and was pleasantly surprised: from the very start, I felt that WOW-effect. That feeling hasn’t gone away since — it’s incredibly inspiring to work on a product directly connected to my favorite game, one I’ve spent over 8,000 hours in. Another huge advantage is the company’s atmosphere: great vibe, lots of insanely skilled CS players, and the feeling that you’re surrounded by like-minded people.”
You don’t necessarily have to join tournaments as a player. For example, our Content Manager Sasha started his journey in the industry by working at gaming events — which became the first step toward his dream job:
“I got my first professional experience in this industry at the Dota 2 tournament Tug of War: Mad Moon, where I worked with team B8. Just a few years later, I had the chance to take part in a major-level event — AniMajor. Being that close to players I once followed as a fan, talking to them and working alongside them — it was an incredible experience that only strengthened my desire to grow in this field.”
Marketing Specialist & Video Production Manager Danya had a similar story — he started filming videos for esports teams as his way to “break into” the field he loved.
“It all kind of happened naturally because I was already part of the community. Someone invited me to an amateur CS tournament, and that’s where I earned money for my videos for the very first time. That’s when I realized it was totally possible to work in a niche I’m passionate about — and even travel to events doing something useful. Later, I started collaborating with amateur teams, then semi-pro ones like IKLA and B8. So before joining MOJAM, I had spent five years working in esports.”
How to Prepare for the Switch?
Level 1: Research the Market
Stay in the loop with both the global and Ukrainian gaming industry. If you don’t know where to start your deep dive into gaming news, here are some top resources recommended by MOJAMers:
Telegram channels: UA_CS2, petr1k_tv, ceh9, ШТАБ CS2
Influencers & players: MAUISNAKE, Kassad, karrigan, NiKo
Level 2: Update Your CV and LinkedIn
Passion alone won’t be enough for getting a job in gamedev or gaming services. Don’t be afraid to highlight not only your hard skills but also your soft ones connected to gaming. Showcase your passion for gaming as a hobby. Mention how many hours you’ve played, your achievements, interesting cases of teamwork or problem-solving during the game. Name your favorite teams, streamers, or players to show that you’re one of “the crew” — someone truly passionate about gaming. Want more tips on how to level up your CV and LinkedIn? Check out our other articles: Crafting a Winning CV: Epic Wins vs Epic Fails and How to Upgrade Your LinkedIn Profile to Generate Job Offers Non-Stop.
Remember: the gaming services and gamedev industries are unique compared to classic IT — sometimes strong enthusiasm and an “insider” understanding of the market can win the recruiter over. Yes, even if you don’t have much experience or your hard skills are still a bit shaky.
Manual QA Engineer Yulian believes that his passion for the craft helped him find a job where he truly feels “in his place,” even though his knowledge was basic at first.
“You can be pretty weak in the profession at the beginning, but if you show progress step by step, that’s what matters. For example, before starting my job, I prepared a lot. I read more about functional and non-functional testing, learned about different testing types, and thought through all the questions I might be asked in an interview. Sure, you usually need to know a lot of software, but I applied for the position before I had mastered it. I learned most things directly on the job. But if you don’t understand your profession’s role in the gaming industry, the problem isn’t that you don’t know something about QA — the problem is that you won’t be able to show your value. You’re not interested, and you haven’t even done the basic minimum to prepare.”
So, don’t be afraid to emphasize your enthusiasm and deep PRO-level involvement in gaming as a hobby. The desire to grow within the team is priceless — and companies are often more than happy to provide resources to help you level up as a specialist.
Level 3: Be Among Your People
Don’t just sit still — there are plenty of great networking platforms that can help you build useful connections and learn about job opportunities in the gaming industry. We recommend:
Attending gaming events (tournaments and themed conferences). In Ukraine, the Games Gathering conference takes place twice a year — the fall one will be held from November 27 to 30, both online and offline. If you already work in IT and want to learn about new vacancies, this option is for you. Although large national gaming tournaments are temporarily paused due to the full-scale war, there are still ESWC qualifiers and smaller local esports events or competitions being organized. This is a great chance not only to meet like-minded people but also to get career insights from the world of gaming.
Joining chats, channels, or forums. Companies often advertise their vacancies there, or industry PROs themselves look for new teammates.
Watching streams. This helps you stay up to date and understand the game mechanics more deeply. Plus, you can make new acquaintances or test your skills. The first step our teammate Kyrylo took was at age 14 — he participated in a 1v1 CS:GO battle against a well-known streamer (and won 😎). That’s how he earned his first knife (a cosmetic in-game skin valued by collectors) and got to assess his own level.
Not being afraid to ask your friends for advice or insights. The gaming world in Ukraine is quite tight-knit, so getting a useful recommendation through a connection is a common practice.
Marketing Specialist & Video Production Manager Danya is a perfect example of why networking with people in the industry can help you land that dream job.
“My friend Sasha — just as much of a gaming nerd (in a good way) as I am. We often played together and took part in tournaments. One time, we went out to a bar, and I told him about the ups and downs of my last month of work. It was 2023 — I only had clients from abroad left, and as a freelancer, I had to cut back on budgets. There was one client who drove me completely crazy, and I even thought about quitting video production altogether. Sasha told me — of course, with no promises of success — that in a month MOJAM would be looking to hire someone for their team, and if I was interested, I could send my CV and participate in the hiring process. And that’s exactly what happened.”
Level 4: Hunt for Vacancies Like a PRO ⚔️
The final battle stage of your preparation — finding that coveted job opening. Here are some resources to add to your inventory:
Company websites: Regularly check the sites of top studios or teams you’d like to work for, because sometimes exclusive vacancies appear only there. MOJAM vacancies always are first published on the corporate site, then on other career platforms.
Games Gathering Jobs Board: During the conference, Ukrainian employers post vacancies specifically in gaming-related fields (both online and offline).
Hitmarker: A global platform for jobs in gaming and esports.
GameDev DOU: Hundreds of vacancies for various positions within Ukrainian companies.
InGameJob: An international platform for researching career opportunities in gaming. Both Ukrainian and international employers post here.
Discord: Not everyone knows, but there are specialized channels for finding jobs in gaming. We recommend Game Dev League and Indie Game Developers.
Djinni: A Ukrainian platform that generally helps find IT vacancies, but recruiters from the gaming world often look for candidates here.
Reddit: There are niche subreddits like r/gameDevClassifieds, where you can not only find job offers but also post your CV for employers to reach out to you directly.
Conclusion: You’ve Got This! 🚀
Yes, the path to your dream job can feel like a battle against a final boss rather than an easy match. For example, our Support Agent Anna faced many obstacles on her way. Her parents refused to support her hobby or buy her a PC, so she wouldn’t spend time on games. Some members of the gaming community saw Anna as a “weak player” or just a “support” because she’s a girl. Yet Anna emphasizes that the key is to pursue your goal through all challenges, even if others don’t believe in you.
“Do what you love, find a community, try yourself even in small roles. Over time, these steps will inevitably lead you to where you feel you’ve found your place. The main thing — believe that your passion can become your job.”
Content Manager Sasha adds a few practical tips on how to turn your dream into a goal:
“The gaming industry is constantly evolving, and there are countless opportunities for those who want to be part of it, even if you don’t plan to become a professional player. First of all, it’s important to understand that the journey in gaming starts with a love for what you do. If you’re truly passionate, the next step is being active and willing to learn. Try participating in tournaments, creating your own content, running blogs or social media pages, testing yourself as a commentator, manager, or event organizer. This will help you find the direction closest to you. Join player communities, follow esports events, and connect with like-minded people. Networking often brings the first job opportunities in the niche. Esports and gamedev are always looking for people who not only love games but also understand how the industry works.”
