I think nobody ever thought about youtube as a career, or a job even. They thought it would be a side hustle until a real job came along. Which is why so much of youtube lately has felt like the channel doing some soul searching about their life. I.E. the folding ideas I dont know james rolfe video, patrick willems death of the music video. A lot of video essayist are film majors; but unlike how music videos and commercials became a reliable method to get into the real movie business, being a youtuber didnt help you get real work. Print media is doing even worse so all the English majors who tried video essays have even worse luck.

I think a lot of people who would have become youtubers 10 years ago have substacks that get 10 views.