CNBC’s “College Voices 2020” is a series written by CNBC summer interns from universities across the country about coming of age, launching new careers, and job hunting during a global pandemic. They are finding their voices in a time of great social change and hope for a better future. What money problems do they face? How are your student loans browsing? How are they gaining work experience, networking and applying for jobs when so many opportunities have been canceled or postponed? How important is the diversity and values of a company for those who are looking for a job in Generation Z?
Covid-19 has rocked the economy in ways that this world has never seen. Many people have found their lives backwards, including students. Now I know that many students find themselves in difficult situations. Many are trapped at home, have lost a summer internship, or cannot find work. However, even if the path ahead is unclear at this time, it is important to remember that there is always something you can do to move forward, even when you’re stuck at home!
Jennifer Frick, a professional consultant at the Carnegie Mellon University Center for Professional and Professional Development, suggests using this as an opportunity for students to focus on their professional development. There are many ways for students to do this. The students can:
- Conduct remote research or courses to advance your studies. A good resource for this is LinkedIn Learning.
- Write a blog on a subject that you are passionate about, to become an expert, instead of waiting for someone to offer you the opportunity to become an expert.
- Start a YouTube channel on something you find interesting or enjoyable.
- Contribute independent articles to online publications.
- Network on online forums for topics you are passionate about.
For me, the choice was a YouTube channel. When I was a sophomore in high school, I decided to make my own way, and not wait for something to be delivered to me in college or beyond.
Where to start
I have always been fascinated by consumer technology. Since I was a young child, I was very excited every time a new phone or tablet was released, and I did anything to have time to interact with them. So the idea of starting a YouTube channel where I can explore the latest in consumer technology and check it out for others to see and learn, came naturally to me. Especially after seeing other tech enthusiasts like Marques Brownlee and Unbox Therapy find so much success on the platform.
The catalyst was a new printer that I received that year as a holiday gift. I thought this would be a perfect time to start a YouTube channel where I could talk about the printer and other future technology that I might get. So I put my phone down, sat on the floor in my room, and checked the unpacking and setup of this Brother MFC-J450DW printer. You could definitely say he was a rookie!
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But the more I worked on it, the better I could make my videos. I saved money on various little jobs and birthday presents and bought myself a new technology to unpack for the canal. I started getting more and more interested in the production aspect of making these videos, and I was challenging myself to make each new video look better and more attractive than the previous one. I watched hours of YouTube tutorials on lighting, sound, editing, and storytelling to constantly try to improve my craft. This not only allowed me to improve my videos, but also allowed me to develop valuable knowledge and experience in the process.
At the same time, I improved my production skills, I also improved my SEO (search engine optimization) skills. I would constantly study the analytics YouTube provided to me in my audience. I learned that the vast majority of people watching my videos were men between the ages of 20-34, so I began to find video products and ideas that were better suited to demographic interests. When I did this, I noticed that my organic YouTube referral traffic started to grow. I continued to refine and optimize my videos to get the most organic traffic possible.
I finally knew I was doing something after making an iPhone 7 unboxing video that garnered 100,000 views in the first month it was live! I kept creating more and more content over time, and I was lucky that some videos work really well on the YouTube platform. I was super excited when last summer, just 5 years after I started the channel, I hit the 10,000 subscriber milestone.
Ben Boxer in Paris, France, vlogging during his semester studying abroad.
Source: Anthony Aldana
Not only am I doing something that I love, but my YouTube channel has acted as a kind of living portfolio of my work, and it has been an important factor in getting me into the university of my dreams, getting an amazing first internship and acquiring my first video clients when I started my own production company, Boxer Video Productions.
Extra income
My YouTube channel has also acted as a form of passive income that has given me the flexibility to focus on my studies and other hobbies like music, without having to worry so much about getting a job to finance the channel. After years of accumulating YouTube advertising revenue, endorsements, and generating Amazon affiliate links, my channel now earns around $ 15,000 per year that I use to cover the cost of the products I review in the videos, as well as reinvest in construction from an arsenal of film equipment that I use to make even more videos for the channel and for my company’s clients.
The mechanics behind starting something like this was quite simple and is truly a repeatable process for any initial YouTuber. I just:
- I discovered what I was passionate about and wanted to create content: new technologies.
- Set up accounts with YouTube, Amazon Affiliates and AdSense.
- I ordered an affordable tripod to start shooting videos on my phone (this one is good for beginners).
- I learned how to edit on iMovie (a free editing software included with Mac) through the myriad of free tutorials available on YouTube.
- I shared new videos with my friends and family to get some initial views, which helped the algorithm collect my videos and share them with a wider audience.
- I put Amazon affiliate links for the products I talked about in the video description to generate some revenue that would fund future videos.
It wasn’t until I was really comfortable with this initial setup that I gradually expanded to buy more professional cinema equipment and experiment with different editing techniques. It was a process that required time, persistence, and dedication. It did not happen overnight.
The point of all this is not: “You should start a channel like I did.” What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t wait for someone to give you a chance. And there is no age limit for when you can start! Don’t think about it too much. Find something that interests you and just step in. If it doesn’t work or you don’t like it, you can stop at any time. Trying new things and learning in the process is valuable in itself. Whatever you decide to do, you never know where it will take you in the future! At the very least, you have some experience for your resume that you can talk about in a job interview. And it shows that you have initiative. That will set you apart from other candidates, and could get you a fantastic job.
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Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.
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