Content creators and streamers have heard the same tired trope over and over again “why don’t you just go get a real job?!”. This statement tends to be used as an attempt to demean our career choice and it’s far more insulting than people realize. So, let’s help clear up any misunderstandings you may have and come together to understand each other a little more. Here is a bit of my journey to making a career out of being a NSFW streamer.
What is the difference between a Job and a Career?
At its most basic, a job is something you do to earn an income and a career is something you plan for, invest in and are passionate about. Training for a standard job usually means some sort of on-job training and typically doesn’t offer much opportunity for growth or advancement. Training for a career requires dedication to furthering education in your field and can evolve as your experiences grow.
The path to a fulfilling career as a NSFW streamer
High School, College, A-Typical Career is the general order of operations society utilizes to measure success. I rebelled against it every chance I got. I knew I’d be an artist in some fashion. I worked hard to get to where I am today in both my vanilla career as a Ballet Teacher and my NSFW wild side career as a Content Creator and Streamer. However, when talking about having a career as a content creator or streamer, there is this idea that what we do requires no actual effort. What exacerbates this thought process is the ableism neurodivergent and disabled peoples face on the daily. We are passionate and have many talents and interests, making streaming a viable option for us to earn the income necessary to simply stay alive and healthy. Essentially what we are creating is our very own small business, however, it’s looked down on because there is no degree to hang on the wall, or health plan & 401k to brag about. We set our own hours, rate of pay and code of ethics, making it manageable for us to even have any type of independence in our lives.
What makes streaming a career?
When looking at the simple differences between a job and a career, I stated that a career is something we plan for, invest in and are passionate about, so how can streaming not be a valid career choice? We orchestrate hours of live entertainment, set up our overlays and curse at our set-ups, trying to get everything just the way we like it. We have to plan, there are too many components that can fail during a live performance, so we have to do our research and set up plans “B-H” as well.
In regards to investments, we buy our equipment and outfits, we purchase brand protection and programs for editing. Looking at VTubers specifically, they purchase or create their avatars and can use expensive equipment to capture their movements. All streamers invest their time and money into creating entertaining shows for our fans but in my opinion, time is our biggest investment. Content creation takes a lot of unseen work, meaning that 5 minute video you watched can take anywhere from an hour to 3 hours to create. So now that we’ve spent 4 hours of our day creating the content, we must upload it and promote it, taking hours for big names and months for a smaller creator to even be able to sell that 5 minute video. When talking about streaming specifically, we can easily block out 3-12 hours just for the streaming time, let alone the hours spent creating the layout of the show.
I know not all creators are equal and I can’t speak for those I do not know, however, Joystick.TV’s NSFW streamers are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge in this field. We come together and share information, debate and ask for advice. We may not have a fancy campus but we have a wonderful Discord. Is this not the equivalent of furthering one’s education in the career field of choice? I’ve met some amazing models and streamers that have helped educate me in my years as a creator. There is always going to be more for me to learn and improve on and it’s important to me that we continue this path to furthering our knowledge.
Finally, let’s talk about passion. My career as a ballet teacher and dancer started as a hobby when I was a kid. I was blessed with the ability to have a professional company attached to the academy I attended. When I fell in love with the ballet world and realized it was something I had the ability to do all day, it was like a dream come true. It is not easy, it is work, but we see the pretty pointe shoes, tutus decked out in jewels, and the iconic smiles of the ballerinas, and we’d forget the literal blood sweat and tears it took to be able to perform on that stage. Streamers are performing artists, we share our interests and talents with the world and we like being seen and heard. When I started streaming in 2018 it was like I was a kid again finding out there was even more magic to be experienced, and it quickly became a staple in my NSFW career. So, whether your art is painting, music, NSFW gaming, coding, telling stories or the ability to make someone laugh, our digital age provides us with a stage.
We don’t need a job, we have a career
So, let’s stop telling streamers and content creators to go get a real job, when what we’ve made for ourselves is a career that gives us a sense of purpose and hope for a world that at the click of a button, comes together with a shared interest and a mind ready for understanding and compassion. Joystick.TV motto is “More freedom. More fun” and I couldn’t agree more. They have been a shining example of the ideal NSFW streaming platform, showcasing the differences of being human and creating a community focused on transparency, mutual growth and respect.
I am very happy to have Joystick.TV be a part of my path to finding my passion. If you want to see more of my talents check out my JoystickTV profile and you can follow me on Twitter @7_belle7