A YOUTUBER who ditched his old job to play Football Manager says he has doubled his salary since making the switch.
Tom Kelsey, 26, from Lincoln, sacked off his old job as a business support assistant at Lincolnshire County Council to play the simulation video game full-time.
The gamer had started a YouTube channel dedicated to the popular game while studying at Nottingham Trent University.
He now runs operations from his bedroom at his parents’ house.
“It’s the freedom that I get from it, that’s what I love,” Tom told the BBC.
Football Manager allows players to take charge of their favourite football team and manage them all the way to glory.
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Since its release, the gaming community has expanded rapidly, with last year’s game played by six million people.
“As [the channel] got more popular and more people started watching it, you start to earn money from the adverts that you see,” he said.
“Suddenly this became an idea – that I could do this as a job one day.
“In terms of the money I make now, it’s double what I was earning in my full-time job before I did YouTube.
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“For me to be able to earn that money whilst also being my own boss and having my own choices and not work for someone else is the best part of it.”
The former council worker earned around £25,000 for his previous position, meaning his new passion project sees him rake in a significantly higher £50,000 annually.
The savvy YouTuber’s channel boasts nearly 120,000 subscribers and attracts around one million views per month.
“I can easily spend 50 to 60 hours a week playing Football Manager, which may sound like it would drive some people crazy but it’s a dream for me,” he continued.
“It’s a very unusual career path when you say you’re going to play video games for my job.
“It keeps growing year on year, month on month, so I’ll try and do this for as long as I can.”
Elsewhere, a woman who was bullied over her love for gaming now has turned her passion into a full-time job – earning a staggering £7k a month.
Natalie Barnes, from Greater Manchester, started her career playing video games for hours from the comfort of her bedroom in Wigan.
The 20-year-old ditched her law degree at the University of Liverpool after forking thousands each year.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
