Each month we take a deeper look at one career pathway in particular. For in-depth profiles of over 600 job profiles, take a look at the Indigo Careers module. This month, in honour of National Career Week, we take a look at the 21st century role of a YouTuber*.

Indigo Career Profiles - YouTuber

Qualifications and courses:

There are no formal entry requirements required to become a YouTuber.

In order to make your channel stand out and accrue subscribers, you may wish to choose a subject to focus on, particularly if you have a skill in a particular area, such as music, cooking, fitness or styling tips. Creating content based on current topics may also help to drive up traffic on your channel.

You will need good camera skills and will need to be able to edit your videos before posting them online. Relevant qualifications you could take include the University of the Arts London (UAL) Level 3 Certificate/Award in Photography and the Gateway Qualifications Level 1 Award in Video Editing and Production for Creative Media Industries.

YouTube has a YouTube for Creators benefits programme at four different levels, based on the number of subscribers you have on your channel: Graphite (1-1,000 subscribers); Opal (1,000-10,000 subscribers) Bronze (10,000-100,000 subscribers), Silver & Up (100,000 subscribers or more). The programme offers a range of services to YouTubers, including tutorials, workshops, events, networking opportunities and production access at YouTube spaces.

YouTube’s Creator Academy (which is available at Graphite level as part of the Creators benefits programme) has tutorials on topics to help you set up, manage and market your channel, such as shooting in 360-degrees, utilizing frame rates and live streaming, as well as tutorials on storyboards, branding and using YouTube Analytics.

What the work involves:

You will film and edit videos of yourself before posting them online on your YouTube channel. You will also sometimes create videos in collaboration with other YouTubers.

You will need to create regular vlogs in order to build up a subscriber base, as well as supporting your YouTube channel through social media activity.

You will engage with subscribers by responding to comments and requests for new content.

You may also be asked to review third-party products as part of your vlogs.

Type of person suited to this work:

You should be passionate about your subject and comfortable communicating this to a worldwide audience. You will need to be comfortable in front of a camera and have excellent communication skills in order to be able to connect with viewers.

 You will need excellent marketing skills in order to build a personal brand and create a subscriber base. You should possess strong IT skills and ensure that you keep up to date with the latest vlogging trends.

Working Conditions:

YouTubers work flexible hours. Most YouTubers who have weekly vlogs will post new content at the same time every week in order to build a solid subscriber base. Hours can be long as it takes time to create and edit content.

Most YouTubers vlog from home, but YouTubers can vlog from anywhere in the world and in all weather conditions.

Future prospects:

With over a billion YouTube users, there is the opportunity to build up a sizeable subscriber base; the most successful YouTubers have over a million subscribers.

YouTubing is often pursued as a hobby. This is a saturated market and it can be difficult to make a full-time career out of YouTubing.

You could move into a related field such as sales, video editing or social media management. You could also set up your own business.

Advantages/disadvantages:

You will have the opportunity to create content about topics that you’re really passionate about and communicate this with people from across the world who share your interests.

As your subscriber base grows, you may receive free products to review.

You may be required to take on additional jobs to supplement your income. You may have to deal with feedback on your videos that is offensive or upsetting.

Money guide

  • There are no set salary guides for YouTubers.
  • The more traffic your channel receives, the more opportunity you will have to make revenue on your videos.
  • If your channel reaches 4000 watch hours in a 12-month period and 1000 subscribers, YouTube may invite you to join the YouTube Partnership Programme. This will then allow you to earn money from advertising on your channel, as well as from YouTube Red users watching your videos. The more traffic you receive on your channel, the more advertising revenue you will receive.
  • If you have a very large subscriber base, this may create opportunities for promotions and partnerships with third parties.
  • Top YouTubers can earn in excess of £1,000,000.

Further information
Visit VidCon Europe or YouTube. 

*Information in this profile taken from Careers, from Trotman Publishing – part of the Indigo family.