Can SpeedCubing be made a career?

[YrMyKnight]

As title states above.
Can we make it a career or is it just a hobby?

 

[Hershey]

Like a professional sport? Well, now both Chess and Gaming are sports so...

 

[Specs112]

I'd prefer for it to stay a niche hobby. Going mainstream would be terrible for the community.

 

[RNewms27]

Depends on what type of career. Maybe a low-paying one as a cuber. If it becomes commercial by performance then it would be awful.

 

[YrMyKnight]

I've seen ppl making their hobbies as a career,they enter competition and win and start earning big bucks :O

 

[tozies24]

I wouldn't think so. Cubing is solving a puzzle against the clock and speedcubing has made it a competition into competing against others times. It is more of an indirect competition. It isn't competing against someone else, but competing against someone elses time.

You could argue that running a race is kind of like speedcubing, but I disagree since all the competitors have the same conditions and not everyone has the same cube and the same method. Runners "BASICALLY" have the same method and have to run the distance no matter what. (don't flame me for not going in to all the slight differences in runner's techniques). But with chess or gaming, you are playing against someone else so there is a direct competition.

Unless cubing just explodes in the next couple years (which I don't really see it doing), then I doubt that this will happen.

 

[Escher]

'Can', sure. It won't be for a very long time though, unless there is a large injection of money into the sport on some level, in terms of monetary prize structures, commercial awareness, sponsorships etc.

 

[TheMachanga]

I'll interpret this question as "Can one quit his job and be a full time speedcuber somehow, today, where speedcubing is currently at.

mmm,
1. Be really really good and travel the world winning competitions for money. However, wca comps do not use money as a prize often, and it's definitely not enough to make a living out of when they do.

2. Be really good, maybe be sponsored by Rubik or something, be in a commercial, and get hired by them in an office job on sales or something, idk

3. Be a serious head of the WCA? Does Ron have another job, or is WCA all he does?

4. Be a cube tester/assembler/designer/seller for a company like Dayan, mf8, rubik, or whatever.

 

[YrMyKnight]

I wouldn't think so. Cubing is solving a puzzle against the clock and speedcubing has made it a competition into competing against others times. It is more of an indirect competition. It isn't competing against someone else, but competing against someone elses time.

You could argue that running a race is kind of like speedcubing, but I disagree since all the competitors have the same conditions and not everyone has the same cube and the same method. Runners "BASICALLY" have the same method and have to run the distance no matter what. (don't flame me for not going in to all the slight differences in runner's techniques). But with chess or gaming, you are playing against someone else so there is a direct competition.

Unless cubing just explodes in the next couple years (which I don't really see it doing), then I doubt that this will happen.

What you are stating make sense

 

[YrMyKnight]

I'll interpret this question as "Can one quit his job and be a full time speedcuber somehow, today, where speedcubing is currently at.

mmm,
1. Be really really good and travel the world winning competitions for money. However, wca comps do not use money as a prize often, and it's definitely not enough to make a living out of when they do.

2. Be really good, maybe be sponsored by Rubik or something, be in a commercial, and get hired by them in an office job on sales or something, idk

3. Be a serious head of the WCA? Does Ron have another job, or is WCA all he does?

4. Be a cube tester/assembler/designer/seller for a company like Dayan, mf8, rubik, or whatever.

2nd and 4th are reasonable but 1st. Nay,feliks still has to work next time LOL

 

[qqwref]

Right now? Absolutely not. There isn't enough money in it even if you are the best in the world.

But in the future, I can definitely see it. As more and more people become interested in cubing, even small competitions will start to have larger and larger prizes. Look what's happened to competitive eating in the past 10 years or so. Eventually, I fully expect top-tier cubers to be bringing in six figures a year.


PS: I don't count commercials, office jobs, working in a cube factory, etc. to count as making a career out of speedcubing. That's making a career out of being a businessperson, not out of actually participating in the sport. Big difference there.

 

[PandaCuber]

Donovan from Lubix has a nice job from speedcubing. Job=Money=Career.

 

[mdolszak]

Haha, my mom think's I will make money from cubing someday...

I don't think cubing will become a full-time job, at least not in the near future.

But as it's been said before, you could make a career out of cube-related things, like designing cubes, cube lubes (Donavan, anyone?), etc.

 

[mrpotatoman14]

Can it absolutely yes but SHOULD it absolutely not. While I believe people could make enough money to get by, speedcubing should not be a career for many reasons.

 

[a small kitten]

And those reasons are?

 

[Hershey]

And those reasons are?

Most likely that "I did ____ before it became popular" stuff.

Personally I think it would be good for cubers to earn money from cubing. There is corruption and cheating in everything, but many people still have some integrity.

 

[Cuberguy21]

Definitely not.

 

[mrpotatoman14]

And those reasons are?

Money in the end would screw the comunity over more and more people would rely on speedcubing as a career and not a hobby ruining it for those in to speedcubing for the community aspect. Cubing is in no way meant to be a job and anything that is a hobby (besides athletics) that one tries to make a career out of faces problems that at first we can’t think of as well. The point of Donovan making money is completely different as he makes money from a cubing store/product. Almost every hobby has a store and a cubing store as a full career is much more likely to be a successful career as stores are needed to the speedcubing community. But, cubing as a career is in no way needed as a job in the world.

 

[Hershey]

Money in the end would screw the comunity over

Did money screw the soccer, basketball, tennis, etc. "comunity" over?

 

[TheMachanga]

Money in the end would screw the comunity over more and more people would rely on speedcubing as a career and not a hobby ruining it for those in to speedcubing for the community aspect. Cubing is in no way meant to be a job and anything that is a hobby (besides athletics) that one tries to make a career out of faces problems that at first we can’t think of as well. The point of Donovan making money is completely different as he makes money from a cubing store/product. Almost every hobby has a store and a cubing store as a full career is much more likely to be a successful career as stores are need to the speedcubing community. But, cubing as a career is in no way needed as a job in the world.

Money.

If cubing was much much more serious than now, cuber would try to get fast just for the money instead of respect from others or peer pressure. People wouldn't go to competitions if they knew they had no chance I guess, and it wouldn't really be fun anymore, knowing that you'll never win because there are people like feliks and rowe.