from unemployment to streamer, content creator and marketer

When we’re young, we all dream of doing a job we love – fighter pilot, pop-star, footballer or film idol perhaps – only to realise it takes more than just a wish to make it all come true.

Dianne El-Habashy was the same and working in retail when COVID19 struck - and it took the pandemic to underscore just how unhappy she was at work.

Feeling burned out and exhausted, she found herself unemployed with gaming the only escape she had left.

But little did she know back then that her online persona would actually open doors to a new direction and fresh opportunities in real life. 

Signing up for a Game Academy bootcamp she’d seen advertised on Instagram and in the Jobcentre in November 2023 proved to be the catalyst. 

Now Dianne makes her living as a self-employed content creator, artist and freelance blogger, also channelling her ideas as a Tik Tok and Twitch streamer with a growing audience already in the hundreds.

But not only did the Game Academy bootcamp offer a new sense of purpose and direction, it included real experience in aspects of the gaming industry Dianne had been unaware she already had the skills to match.

Community management roles resonated with her in particular and she was able to meet real people already working in jobs she felt could suit her too.

Thanks to the bootcamp, she feels she now has both the confidence and relevant experience to apply for posts with gaming companies but, perhaps most importantly, that she has now finally “found her place in the world”.

“At the recruitment days, I got to speak to several gaming community managers and being able to talk to them and ask questions was really helpful,” she said.

“After the job fair, I was confident enough to change my CV and apply for jobs and, even though I don’t have a position in it yet, it gave me the stepping stones. It gave me the confidence to just go for it and realise that the worst thing they can say is no.”

“The course had an impact that will definitely stick with me whilst I’m on this journey and throughout my career.”

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