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From a Side Hustle in Medical School to Building a Career on YouTube

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From a Side Hustle in Medical School to Building a Career on YouTube

Before YouTube started paying his bills, it wasn’t even part of the plan. Calling it a “career” still feels like a stretch to him. He’s a 400-level medical student who just wanted a side hustle — something extra to support himself alongside school. Three months after starting, the channel was monetised. Three months after that, it had generated ₦6m. Now, it brings in at least ₦1m every month.

What started as curiosity quietly turned into leverage.

Searching for Something That Could Work

In late 2024, medical school felt consuming but financially limiting. Reading Naira Life stories about other medical students making money from side hustles sparked something. He wasn’t deeply technical or business-savvy, but those stories made one thing clear: there had to be something he could do.

The idea came from Facebook.

While doomscrolling — unapologetically — he stumbled on a video about creating content on YouTube. Over the next two months, the algorithm kept feeding him similar videos. He joined YouTuber communities where creators openly discussed growth, niches, and monetisation.

By January 2025, he decided to try.

Starting Without a Face, a Niche, or an Audience

He knew two things going in: he wanted a faceless channel, and it had to fit around medical school. Showing his face or recording voiceovers required time he didn’t have. Editing wasn’t a problem — he already knew CapCut — and storytelling channels using AI scripts, images, and voiceovers were gaining traction.

The first niche he tried was motivational storytelling. The first video got 81 views in two days. Not bad — until he noticed most of the viewers were from India.

From the creator communities, he’d learned something crucial: audience geography matters. Channels dominated by viewers from Nigeria and India tend to earn less than those with audiences in the US, UK, and Australia.

He hadn’t told friends or family about the channel on purpose. He wanted the algorithm to find the audience, not his contacts. Everything he’d learned pointed to the same rule: optimise properly, provide value, and trust the system.

So he scrapped the channel, took a short break, and started again.

Finding the Right Direction

In February, he opened a new channel and experimented. Billionaire stories. Family stories. Stories about Black people. He studied patterns and watched what worked.

Eventually, he landed on revenge stories.

Writing came easily, and the niche had endless plot potential. This time, he took research seriously. Using tools like TubeBuddy and vidIQ, he analysed keywords, hashtags, and performance. He didn’t study massive channels — they already had momentum. Instead, he focused on creators with 1,000 to 10,000 subscribers.

The goal wasn’t copying. It was understanding why people clicked, watched, and stayed.

The biggest lesson? Thumbnails and titles carried more weight than he expected.

He applied that immediately.

The first video on the new channel hit 600 views in four days. No promotion. No announcements. Just strangers watching, commenting, and engaging. That was the confirmation.

Consistency Under Pressure

This growth happened while he was preparing for professional exams. Still, he posted at least once a day. Writing scripts was the hardest part; editing was straightforward. He generated AI images, used CapCut’s AI voice, edited, and uploaded.

Some days were exhausting. But the views kept climbing, slowly and consistently. At that point, consistency wasn’t optional.

Crossing the Monetisation Line

By the first week of May, less than three months after starting, the channel crossed YouTube’s monetisation requirements: 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours. Watch hours came easily. Subscribers took longer.

Getting monetised came with its own stress. Google AdSense required identity verification, but he didn’t have a government ID. NIN slips weren’t accepted, and people warned that attempting verification with one could get an account banned.

INEC wasn’t helpful either. No voter’s card unless it was election season.

With a 20-day deadline looming, he used his dad’s driver’s licence. Technically, it became his dad’s channel — even though the money came to him.

Then the earnings started updating daily.

The first $20 day felt unreal. He estimated ₦900k for May. By the end of the month, he’d made over ₦1.5m.

June came in at ₦1.7m. July followed with about ₦2.8m.

A ₦1m monthly baseline became normal — without promotions, ads, or external traffic. Just keyword research, writing, and daily uploads. Some videos crossed 200,000 views.

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What Changed Beyond the Money

The money mattered, but so did the shift in control. He went from being overly frugal to enjoying his earnings responsibly. He treats his family, spends more time with friends, and still saves aggressively — with ₦2.9m already set aside and plans for a dollar portfolio.

Medical school is still demanding. The stress, the presentations, the insults — they don’t disappear. But editing videos does something else entirely. Even creative blocks don’t last long. Inspiration is always one YouTube Studio login away.

He’s already thinking ahead: possibly starting a second channel, maybe one with his face. It might earn less because the audience would likely be Nigerian, but not everything has to be optimised for revenue.

For now, YouTube stays.

Media feels inevitable.

One thing is clear, though: a hospital isn’t part of the future he’s building.

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