We live in an exciting time where the average person has more financial choices than ever. You no longer have to work a 9-5 job to succeed in this world.
Many kids and young adults dream of being YouTubers; however, it’s an illusion. Becoming a successful YouTuber requires more upfront work than most jobs on the market.
I’m writing this article from the perspective of a young 18-22 who has options. Should they go to college and join the workforce or try their hand at YouTube?
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Who’s paying the bills? The most challenging part of becoming a content creator is the lag before success. In most cases, it will take 5-7 years (if not more) before you can fully support yourself by creating content.
While a young person may dream of becoming a massive YouTube star, the Pareto Principle never fails. The Pareto rule, otherwise known as the 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes.
In this case, 20% of the YouTubers make 80% of the money—you must aim to be in the top 20% of the platform.
It is a long, challenging road that most people will abandon at first sight of failure. You will need to find a way to support yourself during the first five years as you grow your audience.
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Jobs aren’t as straightforward today. Although YouTube will be tough to navigate, growing in the workforce is similar to creating content. There is no longer a straight path from entry-level to CEO.
After reading “From Paycheck to Purpose,” I realized successful employees have the same traits as YouTubers.
To grow in today’s workforce, you must be a “people” person, stay on top of trends, choose your workload carefully, and create interactions with the boss.
If they hire you as a software engineer for $100,000/year, you could earn that same salary for ten years if you remain dormant.
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Today’s workforce requires you to jump from job to job to gain positions and status. You may have pricing power at one job, but it may not escalate in pay over the years.
Therefore, you are always in “free agent mode.” You constantly seek the next big jump to increase your pay, position, title, or freedom. Working from home makes it even tougher to grow up the ranks.
In short, you will need to find a way to join the workforce and climb the ladder. The ladder spreads across multiple jobs, positions, titles, and locations.
The days of working up from software coder, software engineer, IT manager, department head, to CEO in one corporation are over.
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The government is an option. If you like the old structure of climbing the ladder, you can try the government. However, you have no pricing power over your wages.
Avoid the government if you have any ambition to make tons of money. However, the government is a great place to gain the job experience that the civilian sector craves. Again, you will need to bounce around to improve your resumé.
Similar paths with one major difference. So working for the government, civilians, and YouTube all have similar approaches—you start at the bottom and work your way up.
There is one major difference between the routes—assets. Any work you do for the government remains with the government. It’s the same with civilian companies—you only walk away with your skillset.
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However, with YouTube, you are building a library of assets you can leverage for the rest of your life. This will give you a leg up against most people moving forward.
Your assets as a resumé. You see, your videos can make you money but also serve as a resumé of sorts. If you spend ten years on YouTube and want to join the workforce, you can write your ticket.
You will learn multiple disciplines while doing YouTube, including scheduling content, video editing, scripting, photo editing, public speaking, working with sponsors, copywriting, etc.
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Each video you produce is its own separate income stream. You can leverage these videos for much more in the future.
You can create podcasts, books, websites, merchandise, etc., around your brand. As you grow on YouTube, you can diversify your income with affiliate marketing, sponsorships, online courses, and memberships.
Multiple streams of income versus “security.” The biggest obstacle you must overcome is the word security. If you go the YouTube route, your friends and family will say you won’t have security.
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They will tell you that a government job, with a pension and 401K, provides the most security to start a family, buy a home, and build a life.
However, it’s an illusion of security. I worked a government job for 20 years and never felt secure. I never got ahead financially because my income couldn’t keep pace with my growing family and inflation.
The truth is that controlling the outcomes is the best way to build security. YouTube gives you the ability to control almost all aspects of your income.
If you want to start a blog or podcast, you can leverage your YouTube audience to grow those. If you wish to create a new sponsorship or course, you can take that path. You will be an insider of your own business.
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To maximize the power of compounding, you will need to be an insider. Working a job will not give you any leverage. It is an excellent way to build at the start of your life, but you will reach an income ceiling after about ten years.
Once you hit the ceiling, you will have to upskill (build a new skill set), change companies, start a business, or go into management. After ten years of YouTube, you can diversify into other venues WHILE your previous videos and content keep working for you.
Conclusion. If I had the option to do YouTube or join the military in 1999, which would I pick? I would go into the Marine Corps again without hesitation.
To be a great YouTuber, you will need to have some kind of backstory that makes you different. Here’s what I would change.
I would jump on the YouTube bandwagon much sooner. In truth, a combination of a job and YouTube is the sweet spot for most people.
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You can work your 9-5 to pay the bills, save money, and invest in stocks. You can do YouTube with a little time during the week.
Then, once you have a small following and enough money in dividends, you can make YouTube a full-time gig.
That would be the route I recommend for 90% of the workforce. Get a job and create a small business on the side. It is the least risky, with lots of upside potential.
For the 10% of hyper-motivated people, they can go straight into YouTube. They have the natural ability and determination to make it work. However, they are a rare breed. It may be you. Good Luck!
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing
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