There was a time, many moons ago, where it was shunned upon to write novels for a living. The thought of sitting alone, scribbling nonsense on paper, disgusted those who broke their back to earn a paycheck. Many wrote to express creativity, others wrote because they were physically unable to mold to society's definition of a "real job". A funny thing happened next; authors started to share their stories with the world, and the hobby of writing started to transform into a source of income. Or as some put it, a "real job".
Full circle.
Writing. Painting. Photography. Three respectable professions that once started out as a hobby, and came under fire when people dared to turn their passion into a living. Sound familiar? YouTube is the latest addition to this list.
When I started uploading Photoshop tutorials to my YouTube channel back in 2006, it was a way for me to share my expertise with friends, and it acted as an escape to the real world. Never did I think I would soon be earning money doing it.
Many have. Many will.
Believe it or not, only 3 years after YouTube launched, myself and many others were earning several thousand dollars per month uploading content to the platform, and as we close in on YouTube's 10 year anniversary, some are seeing multimillion dollar paychecks.
Now before you get too excited (or angry), creators who are earning a solid living off their content is astronomically small compared to the amount of active YouTube users. Just like authors, painters, and photographers, earning a living creating content takes not only skill of your craft, but a ton of hard work and dedication.
Yes, it's a real job.
If I was given a dollar every time a faceless YouTube commenter told me to "get a real job", I'd be able to retire. Non-content creators are often under the assumption that a 7 minute YouTube video takes 7 minutes to produce. They think we turn the camera on, talk for a few minutes, and bam, content! I hate to burst your bubbles, but this is far from reality.
While I can't speak for all creators, quality YouTube content can take days, sometimes longer to produce. Just like an hour long episode of Game of Thrones can take weeks to wrap, YouTube content also takes time. From planning, scripting, filming, and editing, many of my 10 minute tutorials took a solid week to complete.
Miserable? I'm sorry.
Some of the hate that YouTubers receive may be from the misunderstanding about how much work actually goes into a single video, but much of it comes from those who refuse to accept the fact that many content creators have turned what they love into a living. If you're unhappy with your "real job", I'm sorry, but don't take it out on those who have worked to make theirs enjoyable.
Get used to it.
Online content is quickly taking over traditional media, and the younger generation is molding how it looks and feels. If you're one who's upset that YouTubers are making a living creating videos, you may not want to read the next sentence.
Some teenagers are making 7 figures creating 6 second Vine clips.
The world is changing, and whether you like it or not, you better get used to it.