There are a lot of misconceptions surrounded the streaming career path. On one hand, there are those that view online streaming as the domain of children and nothing more than a hobby. On the other, there are those that view streaming not only as a legitimate career but as a guaranteed path to riches.
The truth of the matter lies somewhere in between those extremes. In this article we’re going to dig down into the detail to provide you with as much information about streaming as an occupation as a careers site would give you about any other profession.
Along the way we’ll cover streamers at the very top like Nick Mercs who create light-hearted and comedic content to those smaller creators who are making information rich, niche videos on topics and cover what hosts like Twitch do for their streamers.
Interested in finding out more? Read on…
How Much do Streamers Earn?
Unlike other careers, there aren’t detailed and reliable statistics about streamer salaries available online. That’s because there’s such a wide disparity between those at both ends of the spectrum and, the fact that a lot of new streamers don’t declare their incomes.
Based on the data available however, it appears that the average annual salary of a streamer here in Canada is $54,000 which puts it just a few hundred dollars shy of the average salary in the country.
There are other issues with this figure beyond streamers simply not declaring their incomes and they are:
- Attrition Rates
- Early Incomes
The former is the fact that so many aspiring streamers simply give up, either after a couple of weeks or a couple of years. Their relatively low earnings – often not declared – are not factored into the average salary statistics.
In addition to that, an average salary of $54,000 might seem appealing but for many it takes years and years to reach that level of income. Unlike other professions where there are clear pay grades that increase in a linear fashion, streamers can be earning less than $5,000 a year before they start to make a serviceable income.
How Much do Streamers Work?
When you watch a 30-minute gameplay video on YouTube it’s easy to think that the streamer creating that content has only had to work a short period of time to create that video. The opposite however, is true.
Most content creators and streamers are working an absolute minimum of 40 hours a week, and that’s the big ones. For creators who cannot afford to pay people to edit their videos or who are simply looking to build their viewing base, 60-80 hours a week is the expected minimum. Typically for example, an aspiring streamer would spend around 40 hours a week streaming their content live. Often this would be at hours not conducive to a 9-5 lifestyle as it needs to fit in with the peak viewing times on streaming platforms.
Outside of those hours, the creator would also need to spend around 16 hours a week producing video content from their streams suitable to platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Oh, and there’s no point sharing that content to a follower base of 10 so there’s also social media growth to think about. The hardest part is likely to be finding a niche which hasn’t already been covered thoroughly.
Tapping into something while it’s on the rise can ensure you land on your feet and gain followers just through covering a hot topic, the recent legislation surrounding online casinos in Canada has resulted in a rise in the number of live streamers in that area, but more importantly, increased viewing figures. There are constant live gambling streams on Twitch, so streamers creating engaging casino content are at an advantage here and with a large number of online casinos which accept prepaid cards, it’s a great place to start with a cautious approach.
It takes concerted effort and managing social media accounts, boosting follower numbers and scheduling regular content can take around an additional 8 hours a week. In total then, not considering things like marketing to potential sponsors and the basic admin of being self-employed, an aspiring streamer would need to put in a minimum of 64 hours a week to have any hopes of making big money.
Is Streaming a Viable Career?
Like most self-employed ventures, success comes down to a mixture of talent and hard work. If you think you have the right balance of both then sure, you can absolutely make a viable career out of streaming.
It will however take time and dedication. The average wage for a tree surgeon in Canada is $52,000 a year, but if you were to do all your courses and set out self-employed tomorrow you’d be earning nowhere near that figure in the first couple of years.
You’d have to build up a client base, a reputation and invest in an awful lot of expensive equipment. That would take time and effort, but eventually it would begin to bear fruit if you were good at it. Streaming is much the same, although it has a far higher ceiling than becoming a tree surgeon.
After all, there aren’t any solo tree surgeons anywhere in the country bringing in US$1.5 million a year like Nickmercs.
