A laid-off pharmacy employee says he's making more money now working as a video-game coach on a platform where top coaches can earn $4,000 to $5,000 per month

• ProGuides is an online esports coaching platform that lets players hire a personal coach to help them improve in one of seven different video games.
• Top ProGuides coaches earn between $4,000 and $5,000 per month working with dozens of clients and can build their own schedules, the company said.
• ProGuides coaching sessions cost about $12 per 30 minutes on average, but coaches can adjust their personal rates to bring in more customers or increase their per-session pay.
• Former pharmacy employee Tyler Cunningham said he's earning more as a ProGuides coach than he did at his old job and he has more free time to take care of his grandmother.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to millions of layoffs and general turmoil for America's workforce. But for Tyler Cunningham, the loss of his pharmacy job in March helped him embrace a full-time role as a video game coach, and he's actually making more money now, he said.

Cunningham works through ProGuides, an online esports coaching platform, which said its top coaches earn between $4,000 and $5,000 per month. Users pay for on-demand coaching sessions with ProGuides coaches, with the promise of improving their skills in one of the platform's seven supported games. Coaching sessions cost about $12 per 30 minutes on average, but coaches can adjust their personal rates as they see fit.

The platform has enlisted dozens of skilled gamers to serve as coaches, though not all of them have a professional esports background. Many, like Cunningham, joined the platform to provide a secondary source of income alongside other work.

To become a ProGuides coach, Cunningham had to prove his proficiency in "Super Smash Bros" by playing other coaches and answering strategy questions to show his depth of knowledge.

Cunningham had been playing "Super Smash Bros." since he was in grade school, and began competing in tournaments in February 2019. By June, he was teaching dozens of fellow gamers "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" during his spare time on ProGuides.

"I'd get off of work and if I still had some energy, I'd just hop on ProGuides," Cunningham said. "I'm used to talking a lot when I play anyway. When I'd play with my friends, they'd get sick of the information I was putting out. So, it wasn't difficult knowing what players would need of me."

Cunningham began coaching full time in March when he was laid off by the pharmacy where he worked due to coronavirus-related cost cuts. Cunningham began spending eight to 10 hours coaching on ProGuides almost every day, and he's already earning more than he did as a pharmacy employee.

One reason could be increased demand. People are spending record amounts of time watching and playing video games due to social-distancing policies keeping them at home. Verizon reported that online gaming had increased by 75% during peak hours one week after the United States began adopting shelter-in-place rules. Twitch, the most popular platform for live video game streams, saw viewing hours increase by about 23% in March, according to data from streaming-software firm Streamlabs.

Cunningham said his ProGuides income is helping him pay off medical bills from a trio of injuries, including an incident where he was attacked and concussed.

For Cunningham, who moved from Virginia to California to serve as a live-in caretaker for his grandmother, his new working arrangement is ideal. He has more time to help his grandmother with household tasks amid the coronavirus pandemic, and he can coach at the times that are most convenient for him.

"You can work whenever you want to, and because it's a video game, people's sleep schedules aren't exactly what you'd assume," Cunningham said. "Any time of day you want to get on there, there's usually someone that wants to learn. It was a really comfortable process, being able to talk and teach."

Clients can subscribe to unlimited ProGuides sessions for $96 per year, or pay in advance for session credits and choose from a list of available coaches whenever they log in. Players and coaches can message each other to set up more formal appointments though, and Cunningham said he gets lots of repeat customers.

Some players prefer to go against their coach in one-on-one matches, while others might want to team up with their coach to work on their strategy without worrying about competition. Cunningham charges different rates for solo sessions, team play, and analysis of pre-recorded match videos. His ProGuides coaching profile includes a short bio, a list of achievements, and the in-game characters he's most familiar with.

As the name suggests, ProGuides has enlisted top professional gamers in seven of the top esports for coaching sessions. Some esports fans use the service as a way to meet with their idols and share the moment on social media. Older gamers have also turned to ProGuides as a means to recruit a reliable teammate to play with.

Cunningham said he'd love to turn his coaching into a long-term career, and he believes that the esports industry will eventually eclipse traditional sports, as more people share their appreciation for video games and skilled players.

"There's so much more time, money, energy, passion being put into this," Cunningham said. "You should pick up a video game, you should give it a try - you'll probably like it. And if you do, time's probably going to be on your side."