Playing games is not a bad thing and can help you build a career – tell this to your parents next time. Scientific studies show that computer games literally enhance your logical, literary and social skills. There is no age limit, children can develop cognitive abilities much faster just by playing the right games. According to the Fall 2014 issue of American Journal of Play, children who like video games demonstrate perception, attention, memory, and decision-making processes more successfully. Ability to make split-second decisions also is a long-term effect of video games, which is a critical ability in the “grown-up” world. Research shows that being a gamer even helps to overcome dyslexia.

Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, better spatial attention and improved mental flexibility are the features of all successful CEO’s and guess what, video games helps you to develop these skills. Want some examples? Let’s take a closer look at career options, which can be achieved more easily by playing games.

• Professional Gamer: Being a professional gamer is a very viable career option nowadays. Hardcore players can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in tournaments. There is no age limit either; you can be a 12-year-old boy and still participate in the activities. Playing video games for a living is not for everybody, you really need “skills” for the job, but still, it is an option for everybody. The United States gain a special P1 visa for professional gamers, which is only given to athletes.

• Game Developer: To be a game developer, you need to “play” games first. Best game developers are people who like to play video games. Developing games is a hard yet satisfying job. You need to get involved with every detail – aesthetics, gameplay, performance, bugs fixing, programming… And if you played a lot of games in the past, you already know what to avoid. If you are interested only in aesthetics, being a game designer also is a good option - none of the programming, all of the “good stuff”.

• Game Tester / QA Analyst: Imagine a job which you are asked to sit home and play games all day – you even get paid for it. Being a game tester is exactly that, you get to play tons of games before they released and try to find the “nasty” bugs. Your job is reporting the problems you find to the developers, simple as that. Usually, you get a list of things you need to do at each level and repeat them continuously until something breaks up.

Jobs related to the gaming sector are not your only options of course. Gamers have other advantages for the “normal” jobs too. In general, chief executives prefer to give the role of team manager to gamers – they are simply better managing teams and developing leadership skills. So yes, if you are a guild master for an MMO, you should put that on your resume. If you are a raid leader, that’s even better! Gamers are usually the highest-level performers in a workplace, because they are used to competition and performance metrics. Product-testing department of Slotozilla, for example, prefer to hire only gamers, just because they are better at motivating other workers to achieve a goal.

Almost every career option out there offers some benefits if you are a gamer. Think about an average job interview:  what skills do the HR managers look for? Strategic planning, problem-solving, creative thinking and the ability to achieve goals, right? Well, gamers already have these skills. By organizing a raid, by finishing a level, by finding the secret items on a map… You are already ready for the challenges of the business world. And companies know that too, that’s why they look for people with a gaming background for critical departments.

There is already a career website focused only on gamers. Try http://www.scoutible.com/, they are open both to gamers and companies. Scoutible offers a 20-minute game for teams and individuals. According to the results, you get to know two things: the top performers in the team and the best jobs for that people. It is, basically, a video game based hiring platform focused on finding the right individuals for specific jobs.