One of Twitter’s latest memes has people spilling about their previous work experience, YouTubers included. Now we’re able to see what they did before they started making videos for entertainment — and several of them have apparently started in boring jobs.
The “5 Jobs I’ve had” meme appears to have started with one user who tagged a few friends, and proceeded to spread. Soon everyone was listing their work history, (including your author), so much so that Twitter started to look like a cut-rate LinkedIn. Some listed their jobs in an unusual or joking fashion, some gave the reason the job ended, while others simply listed the bizarre truth and allowed it to speak for itself (again, your author included).
I don't usually, but eh, why not.
"5 Jobs I've Had" (in no particular order)
1. Gaming Reporter
2. Gaming Editor
3. Game Reviewer
4. SEO Writer
5. Assistant Horse Trainer
One of these doesn't feel like it belongs here.— Rachel Kaser (@rachelkaser) April 25, 2019
As expected, several YouTubers jumped on the meme, giving us a glimpse into what kinds of lives video stars lead before they attempt to make a go of it on Google’s cut-throat, algorithm-driven wasteland. What would drive someone to attempt to make (or supplement) their living in this hellscape? We’ve looked at that data (from about 240 YouTubers) and determined what the most common pre-YouTube job among them was, alongside a few runners-up. We included users who included “YouTuber” in their list in one form or another.
5 jobs I've had:
1: Country club caddy
2: Liberty science center guide
3: Pro ultimate frisbee player
4: Tech reviewer/YouTuber
5:— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) April 25, 2019
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The most common pre-YouTuber job is “salesperson/associate/etc” a generic title for lots of retail positions, and the jobs only get more prosaic the further down the list you go — cashier, dishwasher, janitor, waiter, and the like. Other positions include teacher, bartender, lifeguard, and babysitter.
5 jobs I've had:
1. Lawn Mower
2. Waiter
3. Cashier
4. Health Unit Coordinator
5. YouTuberWhat jobs have you had? https://t.co/h9JLuxgCqd
— Alex Wassabi (@AlexWassabi) April 24, 2019
No shade here — collecting a paycheck is a privilege not everyone has.
5 jobs I've had:
1. Walmart stockman
2. Production assistant
3. Freelance writer
4. Quality control chemist
5. YouTuberWhat jobs have you had? https://t.co/7j20hsMUGJ
— Hank (On The Side of the Vaccines) Green (@hankgreen) April 24, 2019
Still, the difference between the personality-driven content like that required to stand out on YouTube and the humdrum jobs many ‘Tubers have had shows one thing: life takes us all on weird paths.
5 jobs i’ve had:
1) customer service at a pizza store
2) before & after school care teacher
3) graphic designer for a winery
4) youtuber
5) owner of harper & willow
? https://t.co/jaTp0UG8vO— Jess Conte (@jessconte) April 24, 2019
Take at least some of these tweets with a grain of salt: several had a bit of a jokey feel to them. For most of them, we just have to take it on faith they’re telling us the truth.
Keep seeing this trend so here is mine!
5 jobs I’ve had:
1- YouTuber? Idk
2-
3-
4-
5- Disappointing my parents— Kelsey Animated (@KelseyAnimated) April 24, 2019
For those who appear serious, the trend of “boring” jobs as a prelude to doing YouTube is a nice reminder that the job you start on may not be the one you wind up with later in life.
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