Nowadays, more children than ever say that they want to be creators when they grow up. Colleges have started offering influencing degrees, and at times, it can feel like we’re building a whole generation of aspiring creators. That would be great if it was possible for everyone to be a creator. But it isn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, with the right strategy, resources, guidance, and newsletters (!), you can definitely become a successful creator. But the chances of ending up at the level of MrBeast, for instance, are very slim. In one Linktree survey from 2022, researchers found that only 12% of full-time creators earned more than $50,000 annually.
The YouTuber/philanthropist/burger enthusiast seems acutely aware of this. On March 14, MrBeast shared the sentiment in a tweet, which accumulated over 15.7 million views.
“It’s painful to see people quit their job/drop out of school to make content full time before they’re ready,” he tweeted. “For every person like me that makes it, thousands don’t. Keep that in mind and be smart please.”
On the one hand, fortune favors the bold. But on the other hand, if one of the most privileged men in the world is saying this, what kind of hope do the rest of us have? Is he right to be cautious? Or simply spouting from an ivory tower?
Personally, I think he’s somewhere in between. Remember the guy in 2021 who quit his job and tried to intern for Logan Paul? He’s one of the many people who took a risk in order to ‘make it’ in the creator economy. Sometimes, as we’ve seen many times before, this kind of risk pays off. Other times, you end up like that aforementioned guy, who, after going viral, lost his truck and went bankrupt.
Somebody who perhaps puts it a little better is Jules Terpak, who responded to MrBeast’s recent tweet with a quote about how “streaming, YouTube, and digital creator culture as a whole could certainly be causing some delusion amongst a generation.”
“It’s a way of the future, but that doesn’t mean the average person should jump into it full-time without having a sound foundation,” she noted.
Nobody is saying you need to squash your dreams of being a creator. But having a plan B doesn’t hurt.
“My advice to anyone who wants to be a content creator is at LEAST have a part time job until it’s sustainable,” creator Santa Decides tweeted in response to MrBeast. “It took me like 6 years before I could do this full time. Don’t put yourself in a bad situation, especially if you have a family.”
