Job Titles of the Future #11 - Minecraft Coach
SteveDirecting you to this super piece on the Library of Economics and Liberty site, (Boy, that is a NAME for a site. I have no idea what this site is really about, someone just forwarded me the link), titled 'Will Minecraft Coaching be a 21st Century Job?'
In the piece, author Art Carden runs down some of his and his kids' recent experiences playing and building in the interactive game Minecraft, which has been in the news this week more for the impeding acquisition of Mojang, the company that created and owns Minecraft by enterprise behemoth Microsoft.
For the uninitiated, (or, people that are not regularly around kids from ages 6 to about 11 or 12), "Minecraft allows players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D procedurally generated world. Other activities in the game include exploration, gathering resources, crafting, and combat. Multiple gameplay modes are available, including survival modes where the player must acquire resources to build and maintain his or her health and hunger, a creative mode where players have unlimited resources to build and the ability to fly, and an adventure mode where players can create custom maps for other players to play", (source Wikipedia).
In Mr. Carden's piece, he speculates that soon 'Minecraft Coaches' will be a thing, or said differently, a service that parents will seek out for their kids, much like parents today spend (sometimes) significant amounts of money on sports, performing arts, or academic coaches and tutors for their kids. Those kinds of advanced levels of instruction and expertise that parents obtain for their kids are only partly about helping the kids to achieve their potential in these endeavours, they are also often investments in what parents hope might be a future career for their kids, or at least a shot at academic or athletic college scholarships.
I think Mr. Carden is probably more right than wrong about this. The debate about whether or not video games, particularly ones that require advanced problem solving, team building, strategy development, patience, and leadership skills, can be beneficial for kids (and adults), and serve as a kind of both a development tool and predictor of career success, is largely being won by the gamers and their supporters.
Harvard Business Review recently asked "Should You Put World of Warcraft on Your Resume?", (they answered 'Yes' by the way). Certainly, you could have substituted 'Minecraft' for 'World of Warcraft' in the HBR piece and come to the same conclusion.
And if Minecraft or World of Warcraft or any other advanced video game does indeed become an item of value on a candidate's profile, then certainly, an industry of 'coaches' is likely to emerge.
If Minecraft can help get little Joey into Yale, then there will be parents willing to pay to help make that happen.
And that is why 'Minecraft Coach' qualifies for the latest installment of SFB's 'Job Titles of the Future'.
Reader Comments (2)
Hi Steve,
Reading your entry made me remember a conversation I had with my mom over the weekend. We were discussing the value of "online gaming". Despite being very strict and conservative, I was pleasantly surprised to hear my mom support having kids play online games (but in moderation, like everything else in life). I almost fell off my seat after hearing her say that.
When I asked her why, she said my youngest brother made a really good case about why playing online games is a good exercise for kids. Most of the games my brother played were problem solving games. It took him to adventures where he had to solve complex problems. I guess that also explains why between me and my brother, he seems to be less panicky when faced with real life problems.
He coerced me into watching Ender's Game on DVD. He said I would have a better appreciation of how playing games will eventually shape the future. That was a bit of a stretch but I understood what he was saying. That strategic and critical thinking skills are developed through playing RPG and other forms of online game .
Love the content, and love the way it is expressed. Great job.