Impact of Future Expectations on Career Planning Attitudes' of Professional Esports Athletes

Abstract

Esports athletes are undoubtedly the most critical element of the esports sector, which embodies a growing economy all over the world. In the literature, there are yet no researches on the professional expectations and career prospects of those who build their career on professional eSport athlete. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impact of future expectations of professional eSport players in Turkey on their career planning behaviors with factors career adaptability, career optimism, and Perceived knowledge of the job market. The data collected by the survey method were analyzed with computer-aided statistics and structural equation model (SEM) software. According to the results, there is a positive and meaningful relationship in the same direction with the future expectations of Turkish professional eSport athletes and their career futures and planning attitudes. The future expectations of eSport athletes positively affect their career compatibility, career optimism, and perceptions towards the eSports Job market. In this sense, the sample group has a perception of a career future suitable for the eSport ecosystem for a sustainable esports career.