7 Great Online Jobs for Teens

The esports industry is booming, with the market expected to grow by another 21.3% by 2027. During the pandemic, Ryan Krichbaum was only 17 years old and decided to stretch his goal and applied to be an esports commentator. Now 20 years old, he has a number of clients including Team Liquid, PlayVS, and EsportsU, who host tournaments such as Pound, Glitch, and Low Tide City.

At these tournaments, he provides analysis and live commentary as a “color commentator”. He has done a lot of research on the front end and provides excellent commentary using skills honed over years of debate clubs and speech classes.

“At the beginning of quarantine, I was a little bored, so I started watching tournaments on TV and the internet,” he recalls. He quickly realized that he knew as much or more about these games than the commentators, so he started applying for opportunities online. “My name started to get better known, I started getting better jobs with higher pay, and I just kept progressing from there.”

The 20-year-old University of Alabama at Huntsville student is pursuing a degree in computer engineering while also working as an esports commentator. Although he has been doing in-person events since the pandemic began to subside, he often works remotely with a camera and microphone, which he much prefers. “It’s definitely a lot easier to do it remotely. You don’t have to worry about the crowd behind you being a distraction.”

And what about the salary? “I make a lot more money than someone who works at Chick-Fil-A, so that’s very nice.”Additionally, “I can work whenever I really want to,” he said. says. “It just depends on the opportunities I choose.”

To get started in this field, Kriechbaum advises simply going online. Look for tournaments in your area that are trying to broadcast on a small scale and apply to be a commentator. If all goes well, “you can use it to build your resume and create a reel to present at a big live show,” he says.