SMLR Info

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – If you’re worried that your kids are wasting too much of their summer playing video games, there could be an unexpected payoff in the future.

A new study by the Rutgers Education and Employment Research Center (EERC) reveals that gaming, modding, and related hobbies can form a career pathway into the high-demand IT field, especially for adolescents and teens with supportive parents.

“Students don’t realize it at first, but playing video games and having related hobbies is often really helpful when choosing a career and even while job hunting,” said Rutgers EERC Research Analyst Eliza Peterson, the lead author of the study. “For example, if they’re hosting a Minecraft server for their friends, they could parlay those skills and lessons into a Server Administration major, and later, maybe a career in that area of IT.”

As part of a larger study supported by the National Science Foundation, Rutgers researchers interviewed 43 students and alumni of the Ivy Tech Community College School of Information Technology in Indiana. The interviews, conducted over three years, revealed a common trajectory.

Most participants became interested in technology at a young age, often while bonding with their parents, and more than half of them (26 of 43) eventually developed a hobby such as gaming, modifying games (modding), coding, programming, or building computers.

As teens, they did not expect that their passion for playing Minecraft or Fortnite could eventually lead to a job. But they eventually had a revelation – what the researchers call the “hobby-to-career reckoning” – and decided to study IT in their community college.

“I realized I have a lot of fun doing this,” said one gamer who decided to change majors. “I made the switch because I realized that I felt like everyone was pushing me to [study] business. But what I really enjoyed was learning programming.”

One alumnus, now a software engineer at J.P. Morgan, described how his coding hobby prepared him for the complexities of handling IT at a large financial institution: “That’s kind of where I shine, because the sort of sloppy hobbyist coder in me has been doing that all my life.”

A recent Pew Research Center study finds that 85% of American teens play video games, and 41% play them at least once a day. Studies have shown that gaming can improve cognitive function and memory, while helping gamers to develop important soft skills.

The Rutgers study adds to this growing body of work by highlighting a pathway from the thumb-cramping World of Warcraft into the lucrative world of IT work.

There are nearly 4.5 million computer and information technology professionals in the U.S., earning a median annual wage of $104,420, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s more than double the median annual wage for all occupations ($48,060).

More than 377,000 computer and IT job openings are expected each year, and overall employment is projected to grow “much faster” than the average for other occupations by 2032, including 25% growth for software developers and 32% for information security analysts.

Many of those future IT professionals could be playing Roblox or Brawl Stars today. But the Rutgers study notes there are several obstacles on the journey from hobby to career.

An estimated 42 million Americans lack broadband internet access, disproportionately affecting low-income families. This “digital divide” may prevent some students from developing an interest in the IT field. In addition, parental skepticism can deter some students from pursuing their passion.

While many of the participants felt supported in their decision to study IT, others were met with resistance at home. One first-generation student told the researchers that his family “didn’t get it” and urged him to enter a different field, but he pushed forward and earned an associate degree in software development.

“If you’re a parent or educator, I would encourage you to reframe the way you think about gaming,” Peterson said. “The gamers in your life could be gaining useful – and potentially lucrative - skills through these hobbies. In fact, you may even want to foster these hobbies further, and help them to see, ‘Hey, I could use this later on in life, in school or at work.’”

So the next time your teen turns on the PS5, perhaps think of it as employment training.

Press Contact

Steve Flamisch
Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations
848.252.9011 (cell)
steve.flamisch@smlr.rutgers.edu

About the Study

Not “Just a Hobby”: The Influence of Early Interest and Hobbies on Community College IT Student Decision-Making by Eliza Peterson, Michelle Van Noy, Sam Scovill, and Renee Edwards appears in the Journal of Advanced Technical Education.

About Us

The Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR) is the world’s leading source of expertise on managing and representing workers, designing effective organizations, and building strong employment relationships. 

SMLR’s Education and Employment Research Center (EERC) strives to improve education and training to ensure students and workers are prepared to be successful in today's workforce. 

###