Becoming a YouTube star is a career opportunity that many want to achieve. In fact, a recent survey published on Business Insider has found that it's the most sought-after job among children in the United States. However, not many people realize that developing this career path is harder than it may initially seem. Estimates indicate that there are over 37 million YouTube channels but only about 230,000 have more than 100,000 subscribers.
If you want to stand out on YouTube, one of the five college degrees listed below can help you get off to a good start. With the right tools and training, you can avoid common yet potentially devastating mistakes and reach your goals faster and more easily than would have otherwise been possible.
Creating great content on YouTube isn't always enough to propel you to stardom. There is so much video content online that even well-made videos wind up buried. That's why a marketing degree is one of the best options for anyone who wants to become a YouTube star.
Marketing majors at Geneva College have access to comprehensive classes that provide input on how to conduct market research in order to select a potentially profitable topic and industry. You'll learn how to research your target audience so you know what people would expect from certain types of channels. You'll take classes on consumer behavior to help you understand what makes people like, dislike, comment on, share, or subscribe to certain types of content.
Marketing majors also learn the ins and outs of promoting a channel outside of YouTube. You'll learn about various forms of digital marketing, including social media marketing, online marketing, and marketing to an international audience. You'll learn how to persuade people and make sales. You'll study public relations to help you handle potentially damaging events in a tactful, professional manner. You'll also learn how entrepreneurship skills and sales management can make a difference for your career aspirations.
Geneva College's Communication Design course is specifically designed for anyone who wants to become a digital product designer. Furthermore, since the course is also created to suit the needs of aspiring brand managers, it's packed with tips on how to drive brand loyalty, which is a must for YouTubers who rely on a loyal audience for long-term success.
Illustration and graphics are also covered in the course to help you design unique graphs and art for your new channel. Furthermore, you'll learn about speech, events, and message development. If you want to create a channel that looks and feels unique, this course is sure to suit your needs.
Psychology courses offer invaluable insight into human behavior that will help you identify potential target audiences and meet their needs. Courses on sensation and perception will help you understand how potential subscribers would perceive certain types of content. Psychology of gender will help you understand the different needs of male and female audience members. Personality psychology will help you develop a bond with your subscribers that will make them not only want to watch your content but also recommend it to others.
It's also worth noting that many successful YouTubers majored in psychology, including Lilly Singh, Jenna Marbles, Louise Pentland, and Jim Chapman.
Integrated media, as the name implies, teaches you how to use various types of media to tell a story. It's designed for anyone who wants to learn about broadcasting, multimedia, and advertising, making it an ideal option for any aspiring YouTube star.
In this course, you'll learn the technical aspects of creating great audio and video content. You'll learn how to captivate your audience and engage them. The latter skill is a must as you'll rely not only on YouTube subscriptions but also word of mouth to increase views to your channel.
Furthermore, this course covers media law, regulation, and ethics. This course is important because, as The Verge recently pointed out, well-known and obscure YouTubers alike are being hit with copyright violations on YouTube more often than in the past. Some have found that YouTube's regulations and Fair Use laws are vague regarding how content can be used without prior permission. In some instances, YouTubers have lost huge sums of money for simply using a few seconds' worth of copyrighted material on a long video.
While studying laws pertaining to YouTube content isn't as appealing as learning about designing and creating videos, it could spell the difference between long-term success and ultimate failure for your channel.
Geneva College offers students the opportunity to construct their own degree program, if the major meets the university's criteria. What's more, your customized major can include credits from courses taken at other accredited educational institutions or even special educational experiences such as spending time abroad or an internship.
Would you like a degree in visual design marketing, animation, or live production? Check out Geneva's courses to see how you can use these to build a diploma option that meets your specific needs.
Alternatively, you may want to create a YouTube channel that covers a specific industry and so opt to include courses on media and marketing together with other specialized course options. For instance, maybe you'd like to cover medical technology or biomedical research on your YouTube channel. Combining medical courses with marketing, psychology, and communication classes can provide you with a diploma that showcases your expertise in the field. An aspiring YouTuber who plans on creating content for children may want to include classes related to education with their study course to earn a major in Education Production.
Should I Go to College if I Want to be a YouTuber?
Going to college can provide you with the skills and training needed to become a successful YouTuber, especially if you pick the right major. If you still aren't sure which major you should choose in order to become a YouTube star, get in touch with us at 855-979-5563 or reach out for professional advice. At Geneva College, we take pride in helping our students reach their career goals, and we'll work with you to ensure you get the training you need in order to become a successful YouTuber.
Opinions expressed in the Geneva Blog are those of its contributors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official position of the College. The Geneva Blog is a place for faculty and contributing writers to express points of view, academic insights, and contribute to national conversations to spark thought, conversation, and the pursuit of truth, in line with our philosophy as a Christian, liberal arts institution.
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