Serious Question

[Wiggly Cinema]

I know that most you, due to being in this community, will say yes to this question. However, I feel it necessary to ask it, not only for my own benefit but also to have a broader discussion on YouTube.

The question is this: Is being a YouTuber worth it, and should someone who is focused on getting a quality education in college attempt it?

 

[KatyAdelson]

I think it's possible to pursue a quality education and have a YouTube channel. Whether or not it's worth it depends on the person. YouTube is a lot of upfront work with no initial results, unlike most careers working for other employers. It's a form of freelance and passive income, which isn't for everyone.

 

[Primink]

deleted

 

[darksmokeyt]

Passive income should be supplemented by some initial income.

In this scenario, a person would work a normal job to pay the bills or attend school, and work on the passive income sources outside of work/school. Once the passive income is large/secure enough to quit working the normal job, then doing ONLY YouTube would viable at that point.

Of course this is just my opinion.

 

[PlagueTv X]

Definitely focus more on your real life situation. Do youtube as a spare time thing if you like, and then if that takes off to such a degree then I guess that would be the time to reconsider your options.

 

[TheDutchTexan]

I know that most you, due to being in this community, will say yes to this question. However, I feel it necessary to ask it, not only for my own benefit but also to have a broader discussion on YouTube.

The question is this: Is being a YouTuber worth it, and should someone who is focused on getting a quality education in college attempt it?

One word when starting out: Hobby. If you do not have passion for creating don't even TRY. Especially now you need to hit 1000 subscribers and then hit 4000 hours (~80,000 views based on a 3 minute retention average) of views annually to be monetized. It is 100% worth it to share your content. But it is extremely hard to get noticed, get views and get interactions because your content is buried at the bottom of the barrel.

 

[Gaijillionaire]

I’d say quality college education is an oxymoron. It doesn’t exist. But that piece of paper does get you into a lot of jobs you can’t get otherwise.

Personally if there had been internet when I was 18, I’d never have gone to school and just found my way on something. Maybe not YouTube maybe something else So don’t fall into the trap that college is the only thing that matters

 

[Seansie]

I’d say quality college education is an oxymoron. It doesn’t exist. But that piece of paper does get you into a lot of jobs you can’t get otherwise.

Personally if there had been internet when I was 18, I’d never have gone to school and just found my way on something. Maybe not YouTube maybe something else So don’t fall into the trap that college is the only thing that matters

Agreed. I’m currently in college for a degree they don’t even technically have. My mom believes in a 4 year, brick and mortar education, but my field of study doesn’t care whatsoever where you got your training. Instead of a resume, we show potential employers a showreel (basically a video art portfolio). I constantly worry if my school will prepare me enough to be professional level and hence that’s why I’ve taken to self studies and posting on YouTube.
So it can depend on a lot of things. One main one being what exactly you want to do with your future and how you feel it’s best to get that sort of training. Maybe that’s self taught, maybe that’s online or trade school, maybe it’s a bachelors degree at a prestigious college, or maybe a mix of them all.

 

[Cassarilla]

Yes. As long as you enjoy it. I agree with what others have said about focusing on real life stuff though. It's also important to consider what you are going to college for. Is the degree actually necessary? Or would it be more helpful to jump into the field and get started?

For context, I went to college for two years then withdrew and I don't regret going... so I'm not telling you not to go. (Okay, I regret the debt and paying back student loans but not actually my college experience. ) What I learned in college has been helpful to me in life actually with youtube, music, and theater. If what you are pursuing is something you are passionate in you can definitely be a student and make youtube content at the same time. I feel like you'll know if your channel grows enough that you can use that as your main focus.

 

[OrbitGuy]

This was a situation that I was in for a few years, and unfortunately for me I just didn't work out to make content while I was actually on campus so I would make all my videos on the breaks. There were times when I wanted to quit and just do YouTube, I had some early success and that gave me a lot of confidence. The problem, as was stated above, is that it takes time for most channels to get off the ground. If you were to quit college and instead pursue YouTube you would have to factor in time before you would start earning anything. Especially these days having to get monetized makes that to me even more daunting. If you can do both it's best, but personally I couldn't get comfortable recording on campus or in front of roommates. It was too noisy and I would get super nervous with my lack of experience at the time.

I'm glad I finished, but also regret not having most of those 2 years to make videos and follow up the initial success I had. I came back to a mostly dead channel after I graduated because I was never able to follow up on several successful series of videos. I'd really love to be 2 years farther ahead right about now. Then again it would have been rough mentally dealing with all the questions from family and friends about why I didn't finish.

What I would say is try to start while you are still in college and get a feel for it while continuing college if at all possible. YouTube is not a linear thing and it's hard to know if you'll be any good at it until you try it out.