Is YouTubing a Job? The Reality of Being a Content Creator!

Understanding YouTube Creators

20 years ago, the idea of uploading videos on the internet to earn a living would have sounded ludicrous, but today, it's more than just possible - it's a lucrative career path! If you've watched your favorite YouTube videos and wondered if producing content to make good money is a realistic option, the short answer is YES!

Thanks to ad revenue, subscriptions, sponsorships, and brand partnerships, YouTube is now a viable full-time career choice. So much so that 1 in 3 kids want to be YouTubers when they grow up! As a YouTuber, your job entails uploading videos for a living, but it's a lot easier said than done! So, what does it really mean to be a YouTuber, how viable is it, and how do you start?

Monetization and Earning Potential

Earnings from YouTube vary greatly and depend on a number of factors. In our blog post about CPM, we went into great detail about Cost Per Mille (CPM). In short, the CPM determines how much you get paid by advertisers every one thousand views on their Ads. This rate is different for each niche, so you'll have to do a little research (or read our article where we've done the work) to be able to estimate potential earnings.

To begin with, though, you probably won't be making any money at all. The reason? Your channel won't be monetized when you just start off. To be eligible for monetization, you need at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours in the past 12 months, or 10 million public Shorts views in the past 90 days. That means you'll be making videos for free, unless you have another revenue stream locked and loaded, but without an established audience it's not likely you'll gain any traction there either.

With that said, if you stay consistent, continue to improve the quality of your content and harbor a loyal viewer base, you will be rewarded. You don't need to go viral to start making money on YouTube. Even with a couple of thousand subscribers, you're well on your way to making this a career. By this point, you can begin looking at affiliate links, merchandise, subscription options like Patreon or channel memberships and more. How fast you grow depends on a number of factors and a little luck, but it's no secret that the top creators earn up to millions! But it's important to temper expectations and understand that it takes time to make a good living as a content creator

YouTube - A Recession-Proof Career

The big advantage that YouTubers - and content creators in general - have is the immunity they enjoy from most economic downturns that occur in the world. This was apparent during lockdown (when, if anything, business was booming for creators) and is still true in 2025 with fears of recession sweeping the United States.

So why is YouTube a seemingly more stable job than many traditional careers? To start with, digital content consumption tends to rise during economic hardships as people are likely to seek out free or accessible content. Companies will still need to advertise, and digital platforms will continue to be a major portion of where their budget is allocated. Moreover, as a YouTuber, your employer is Google, a trillion-dollar corporation, which should give you a bit of job security.

During these trying times, your content might actually be more likely to thrive. Niches such as real estate, self-help, or making money online are examples of hot categories that tend to have more eyes on them in these economic conditions. But even if your content doesn't exist in one of those spaces, you don't need to worry. As a content creator, you have the luxury of utilizing various income streams. Brand deals, Patreon subscriptions, channel memberships, donations, and affiliate links are some of the most profitable avenues that have nothing to do with Ad revenue. If you can create compelling content that resonates with a sizable audience, you can find ways to monetize your videos and often be shielded from the economic shockwaves that affect many other careers.

Building a Successful YouTube Channel

While being a YouTuber can be a great career option, it's not quite like a traditional full-time job. It's more like running a business. You need to invest a little money to get started, and have strong planning for everything from the channel niche to your posting schedule and strategy. It requires looking at data and making adjustments on the fly, engaging with your viewers regularly in the pursuit of fostering a loyal audience, and being consistent.

We've talked at length about how to choose a niche in other posts, as well as what makes a YouTube channel successful. Here, let's discuss the mindset you need to make this a reality. YouTube is an interesting line of work because it blends creativity and artistic expression with entrepreneurial acumen. At the end of the day, most of the content on the platform has some degree of emphasis on entertainment, and to accomplish that, you need passion, expertise, and vision. At the same time, if you want to make this your career, you also need to be able to put on another hat - one that has you optimizing, analyzing, and constantly improving.

The name of the game is consistency. Posting regularly, engaging with your audience, being aware of the latest trends and topics, brainstorming content ideas to avoid stagnation, utilizing other social media platforms are some of the things that ensure success.

The Reality of Being a Full-Time Creator

Unlike with a lot of other careers, creating content for a living doesn't come with a guidebook. Many creators end up "learning on the job" so to speak and it results in discomfort and burnout for them. While it can be an incredibly rewarding experience, it's important to understand some of the harsh realities that come with this path so you can deal with the hurdles.

Being a full-time YouTuber is different to a full time job. You'll be working a lot. Editing, storyboarding, scheduling content, collecting and analyzing data, replying to comments, talking to brands, collaborating and traveling to events, planning and coming up with ideas, learning new skills and much more will take up a large portion of your time. For certain topics and niches, your content may require you to be the "star" of the show, as it were. So going in front of the camera and regularly putting on a good performance is another aspect to consider.

Additionally, you need to know that much of your success on the platform is going to be tied to the YouTube algorithm which can be difficult to understand or predict. Just because you're making videos that are "better" in some ways to other people, doesn't necessarily mean you'll make more money. Creating engaging, high-quality content is only part of the equation. The other part is knowing what people actually want to watch and, more importantly, what YouTube thinks people want to watch. That requires being embedded in the online space and a deep familiarity with social media to stay relevant.

The good news? You can actually cut down on most of the hassle that comes with being a content creator and focus on what matters most: creating the content! Imagine not having to sit through hours of footage, meticulously editing it according to your standards, coming up with engaging and exciting thumbnails, planning a content schedule that's data-driven, and finding the best combination of title, description and tags that makes your video clickable and optimized for the platform? If all that could be done for you, so much of the struggle of being a YouTuber goes away. All that your left with is the flexibility to focus on your craft and express yourself the way you want. It becomes easier to run your business, be consistent and grow your social media presence.

If that sounds good, consider hiring a team to do it for you. Assembling one requires finding the right editors and content strategists, and while you can try seek out those people, why not go where the experts are? At EZEdits, we offer all of the above and more - our team specializes takes over the menial tasks so you can take back your time.

With that said, here are some key takeaways if you're looking at YouTube as a job in 2025:
Being a YouTube creator can be a real job, with many creators earning significant income from ad revenue and brand partnerships.

• To approach YouTube as a full-time career, you need to focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that resonates with their target audience.

• YouTube’s algorithm plays an important role in determining the success of a YouTube channel, and creators need to understand how to work with it to increase their visibility.

• With millions of YouTube users and thousands of hours of content being uploaded every hour, standing out as a creator requires hard work, dedication, and a well-thought-out strategy.

• Successful YouTube creators can earn a full-time income and build a loyal community of subscribers who appreciate their content.