I used to bot Runescape, then moved on to WoW. I managed to get my main that I had since Vanilla banned.. it crushed me. I added a new license to my account but couldn't bring myself to play for the longest time.
Then I decided to do it as a business with accounts I didn't care about.
Accounts would take a week to level up, and only last two days, but those two days paid for the account and then some. I took it as business expenses and charted my profits. People say all the time "don't bot on accounts you aren't afraid to lose".. that's hard. I always started an account thinking I didn't care - but I really did. I'd get attached and hopeful then crushed when they got banned. I've woken up countless times to having everything banned, but eventually the feeling of horror when they all disconnect at the same time wore off.
In school we were learning C++, but in my free time I was learning C# just so I could code my own profiles, plugins, and botbases to maximize those profits as best as I could and automate my processes. Botting helped pay for my school and actually led to me starting a career as a software developer when I only had a few very basic programming classes at the time (
https://www.thebuddyforum.com/honorbuddy-forum/success-stories/150016-owe-programming-job-hb.html).
Yes you can make some money botting. Don't make a career out of it.
Automate absolutely everything you can so you don't end up spending more time botting than on school.
Don't get attached to accounts - treat them as business expenses and consider them banned the second you click start.
Save for backups! One of the worst mistakes I ever did was blow the money I made botting, then got banned earlier than I had planned. I couldn't afford to start up again for a while.
Stay on top of updates. The game changes all the time and old methods might get nerfed with new ones created. Especially pay attention to how the upcoming game time tokens affects the markets.
Don't worry about people trying to insult you for not having a "real" job. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making money online. Just be sure you actually are making money, and that how much you make is acceptable for the hours you put in. Keep track of everything.. how much you're making and spending for taxes and your own personal use.
Don't be shy about botting - own it. Being self-employed actually making yourself money looks a lot better on a resume than unemployed for the same period of time. Just come up with some creative words to describe it instead of "Botted WoW 2010-2013"... and know how to respond when they ask you about it.
