How to get a YouTube video editor job and how much they earn
- It's become increasingly common for YouTubers to hire editors to help with their videos.
- Being a YouTube video editor can be lucrative and become a full-time job, with the right tricks.
As the creator economy grows, creators are hiring more talent to help with tasks such as shooting, production, and post-production.
Take MrBeast, who is the most followed YouTuber in the world with over 111 million subscribers. He has built a large operation in his hometown of Greenville, NC, and he often has work positions open on his website.
The jobs in the YouTube space range from "YouTube producer," to "thumbnail designer," or "video editor."
Video editors, in particular, are in charge of selecting, cutting, and arranging the footage of videos. While some YouTube creators, like MrBeast, have in-house teams of editors that are employed full time, other editors work as freelancers and run their own businesses.
How to become a YouTube video editor
Becoming an established editor often depends on building the right connections.
Taylor King, who has edited videos for YouTuber Alisha Marie, built her way into the job through networking and doing free work for creators to learn editing skills.
It may be enough to show drive and dedication and make the right connections online, even without meeting creators in person. King mainly used Instagram for that.
"I'm constantly DMing people and I don't think there is anything wrong with admitting that you are a fan of someone," she previously told Insider.
Read King's tips to network and build relationships in the YouTube industry
David Stack, who freelances for different creators, worked for a year for MrBeast after he contacted the creator's lead video editor via Twitter DMs.
Stack shared how he landed a job with MrBeast thanks to a Twitter DM
A similar thing happened to Ayden Naenna, who saw that a tweet from a creator who was looking for someone to edit a video for him. Naenna took up the opportunity, and quickly started earning good money at just 15.
Read more about how much Naenna makes as a video editor at just 17 years old
Leonardo Orantes-Paz also got in touch with the lead editor of esports organization NRG through Twitter. He started editing for one of NRG's YouTube channels, and later was promoted to producer.
Andrew Siwicki, who now works as a producer, cameraman, and editor for creator Garrett Watts, got his start into editing by sending a direct message to a creator on YouTube (a feature that no longer exists).
Siwicki shared his career path to becoming a full-time video editor
It might be easier to start working as an editor for short-form videos, to learn skills, and then transition to working with long-form creators.
Read how Mathew Rhyze made video editing into a full-time job
How much YouTube editors make
Making good money as an editor requires a combination of skill, consistency, and self confidence.
Stack said he is always trying to learn new techniques and keep up with more experienced editors.
"I love watching online art and creativity courses from universities like Harvard," Stack previously told Insider. "Editors from Disney or Pixar often hold lectures there."
Read about how much Stack earns per month, and how he built a freelancing business
Knowing when it's time to raise your rate and not undervaluing yourself is also very important to make video editing into a full-time job.
Rhyze explains how he sets his rates as an editor
A good video editor also knows that editing for YouTube is very different than editing other forms of video entertainment.
"I think many associate YouTube videos with movies, which is a mistake," Rhyze said. "YouTube users have way less tolerance for slow pacing."
Joe Vulpis, who's worked with creators like Liza Koshy and David Dobrik, was surprised at how little of what he learned in filmmaking school he would need for YouTube editing.
Read how much Vulpis makes per month, and the differences between filmmaking and YouTube editing
Ayden Naenna hopes that learning video editing will help him get started in filmmaking, too.
Other YouTube jobs: Thumbnail designer
Being a video editor is not the only way to build a career working "behind the scenes" of a YouTube video.
Many YouTubers also outsource work on thumbnails — the small images that preview a video. Thumbnails are meant to catch the attention of the audience and convince them to click on a video, making them crucial to the success of a video.
A great thumbnail requires attention to different factors, like color, emotion, and structure.
Top thumbnail designers share the elements of a successful thumbnail
But turning it into a job can be tricky.
19-year-old Dill Toma, who freelances for creators like Anthony Padilla (6.8 million YouTube subscribers) and Airrack (10.5 million subscribers), made thumbnail designing his full-time job by learning how to set appropriate rates.