Key Moments
How Much Money I Earn as a Doctor + YouTuber
Ali AbdaalKey Moments
Doctor and YouTuber Ali Abdaal breaks down his 2020 earnings: over £1M cumulatively from medicine, YouTube ads, affiliates, sponsors, courses, and memberships.
Key Insights
Transparency in income reporting is valuable for inspiring others, despite potential drawbacks.
Success in online ventures like YouTube requires significant long-term work, luck, and leveraging 'unfair advantages'.
YouTube AdSense revenue grows exponentially, taking years of consistent content creation to become substantial.
Affiliate marketing and sponsorships can become significant income streams once an audience that trusts the creator is built.
Online courses and memberships, especially when live and community-focused, can generate high revenue, but require a loyal audience.
The key to sustainable online income is building an audience through consistent, valuable, free content over an extended period.
TRANSPARENCY AND MOTIVATION BEHIND SHARING INCOME
Ali Abdaal begins by emphasizing the importance of transparency regarding income, a topic often considered taboo. He believes that open discussions about earnings and how they are made can inspire and guide aspiring creators. While acknowledging potential criticisms of appearing boastful, especially during difficult economic times, he cites audience polls indicating a strong desire for this kind of content. Abdaal reassures viewers that engagement is voluntary and that this information aims to educate and inspire rather than alienate.
THE LONG ROAD TO ONLINE SUCCESS
Abdaal stresses that his financial success is not an overnight phenomenon. He has dedicated 14 years, starting from age 12, to various online ventures, including coding, web design, and freelance work, with initial failures common. His first significant success came at age 19 with a business built after seven years of trying. YouTube also required consistent effort, with 52 videos before reaching 1,000 subscribers and no income in the first year of posting twice weekly. This sustained dedication, viewed as enjoyable rather than burdensome, is a critical factor.
EARNINGS AS A JUNIOR DOCTOR AND THE APPEAL OF DIVERSIFICATION
In 2020, Abdaal earned approximately £22,100 from seven months of full-time work as a junior doctor, equating to about £14 per hour after accounting for commute time. While acknowledging this is a reasonable salary, he notes that doctors often complain about pay relative to friends in other high-earning professions. More importantly, he highlights the problem of income singularity. He found that many doctors would leave the profession if financially independent, indicating a potential lack of passion. This realization fueled his drive for financial independence through multiple income streams.
YOUTUBE ADSENSE AND THE POWER OF CONSISTENCY
In 2020, YouTube AdSense revenue reached £106,950, with nearly 1.3 million subscribers and 57 million views. Abdaal details his journey, starting with £1 in 2017 and progressing to £12,329 in 2018, £33,186 in 2019, and a significant leap in 2020. He contrasts his rapid channel growth—hitting 100k subscribers in 143 videos versus the average of 1171—with the average YouTuber's path. This astronomical growth is attributed to consistent effort, publishing an average of two videos weekly for three and a half years, highlighting the compounding effect of sustained content creation.
AFFILIATE INCOME AND SPONSORSHIPS: BUILDING TRUST AND VALUE
Affiliate income in 2020 amounted to £132,471, generated by recommending products through links in video descriptions. Key partners include Paperlike, iQunix, Epidemic Sound, Amazon, and the 'Building a Second Brain' course. Sponsorships, beginning in 2018 after 120 videos and 50,000 subscribers, yielded an estimated £136,000 in 2020. Abdaal emphasizes that these income streams flourish when an audience trusts the creator. Building this trust takes years of consistently producing valuable content, making recommendations sincere and effective, and is not an immediate revenue source.
MAXIMIZING REVENUE THROUGH ONLINE COURSES AND MEMBERSHIPS
Skillshare royalties and affiliate earnings from his seven classes generated £350,000 in 2020. His 'Part-Time YouTuber Academy' course, with 360 students, brought in £220,000, demonstrating the potential of high-ticket offerings to serious learners. A subsequent 'Inner Circle' membership program added another £53,000. These ventures underscore the importance of a pre-existing, engaged audience that trusts the creator's expertise, making it easier to monetize knowledge and community.
THE THREE PILLARS OF SUCCESS: WORK, LUCK, AND UNFAIR ADVANTAGES
Abdaal identifies three key components contributing to his success: work, luck, and unfair advantages. 'Work' involves consistent content creation and quality improvement. 'Luck' is acknowledged but can be amplified by increasing exposure through more content. 'Unfair advantages' are crucial and include his unique position as a Cambridge medical student, his early acquired design skills, and the capital from a previous business to invest in production. He advises aspiring creators to leverage their own unique advantages for greater success.
OVERALL FINANCIAL PICTURE AND THE VALUE OF SCALABLE INCOME
Cumulatively, Abdaal's income streams in 2020 totaled £1,013,000 (approximately $1.362 million USD). This extraordinary figure was achieved through a combination of his doctor's salary (£22,100), Google AdSense (£100,000), affiliates (£132,000), sponsorships (~£136,000), Skillshare (£350,000), the Part-Time YouTuber Academy (£220,000), and the Inner Circle membership (£53,000). He interprets making money online as providing scalable value and views it as a fair exchange, not something to be ashamed of.
Mentioned in This Episode
●Products
●Software & Apps
●Companies
●Organizations
●Books
●People Referenced
YouTube Channel Growth Metrics vs. Average
Data extracted from this episode
| Subscriber Range | Average Videos to Reach Range | Speaker's Videos to Reach Range |
|---|---|---|
| 1K - 10K | 152 | 52 |
| 10K - 100K | 418 | 91 |
| 100K - 1M | 1171 | 287 |
| 1M+ | 3873 | 315+ |
Annual Revenue Breakdown for 2020 (in Pounds)
Data extracted from this episode
| Income Source | Amount (GBP) |
|---|---|
| Doctor's Salary (7 months) | 22,100 |
| Google AdSense | 100,000 |
| Affiliate Income | 132,000 |
| Sponsorships | 136,000 (approx.) |
| Skillshare Courses | 350,000 |
| Part-Time YouTuber Academy (Cohort 1) | 220,000 |
| Inner Circle Membership (Cohort 1) | 53,000 |
| Total Overall Revenue | 1,013,000 |
2020 Skillshare Course Earnings (by Month)
Data extracted from this episode
| Month | Royalties (Watch Time) | Affiliate Income | Total Earnings (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | $2,800 | $300 | $3,100.89 |
| February | $2,363 | $280 | $2,643.00 |
| March (partial) | $5,680.57 | N/A | $5,680.57 |
| April | N/A | $9,340 | $29,746.84 |
| May (partial) | N/A | N/A | $40,926.99 |
| June | N/A | N/A | $56,547.21 |
| July | N/A | N/A | $62,541.00 |
| August | N/A | N/A | $60,582.00 |
| September | N/A | N/A | $67,363.00 |
| October | N/A | N/A | $66,194.00 |
| November (estimated) | N/A | N/A | $60,000.00 |
| December (estimated) | N/A | N/A | $60,000.00 |
Common Questions
The speaker earned approximately 22,100 pounds from his job as a junior doctor in the UK's National Health Service during the first seven months of 2020. This equates to an hourly rate of around 14 pounds after accounting for commuting. This income made up a small portion of his total earnings for the year.
Topics
Mentioned in this video
Author whose book 'The Stormlight Archive' is quoted for its 'journey before destination' philosophy.
Mentioned for his quote about finding work that feels like play.
Runs the 'Right of Passage' online course and advised the speaker on creating his own high-ticket course.
Mentioned for his quote that 'it just takes one piece of content to change your life.'
Runs the 'Building a Second Brain' online course and advised the speaker on creating his own high-ticket course.
Introduced the speaker to the Standard agency.
A friend and creator associated with the Standard agency.
A platform that provides data on YouTube CPM rates for brand deals.
A brand mentioned as an example of a company whose recommendations are taken seriously by an audience with trust.
Provider of music for YouTube videos, mentioned as a successful affiliate partnership.
Video-sharing platform where the speaker earns income through AdSense, sponsorships, and course promotion.
Brand of the 'analog to-do list' mentioned by the speaker.
A brand mentioned as an example of a company whose recommendations are taken seriously by an audience with trust.
Social media platform used for polls regarding video content.
An online learning platform where the speaker hosts multiple courses that generate significant revenue.
A brand mentioned as an example of a company whose recommendations are taken seriously by an audience with trust.
Manufacturer of the F96 keyboard, mentioned as a product earning affiliate income.
Social media platform used for polls regarding video content.
A brand mentioned as an example of a company whose recommendations are taken seriously by an audience with trust.
The world's largest affiliate program, easiest for beginners to sign up for.
A YouTube Chrome extension used to analyze channel data and average video counts for subscriber milestones.
A brand that regularly sponsors the speaker's videos.
A brand that regularly sponsors the speaker's videos.
Flashcard software for which the speaker created a Skillshare class.
A creator/channel associated with the Standard agency.
An expensive online course run by Tiago Forte, which the speaker promoted via affiliate link and used as inspiration for his own course.
A book by Brandon Sanderson that contains the quote 'journey before destination,' emphasizing the importance of enjoying the process.
An expensive online course run by David Perell, which inspired the speaker's approach to creating his own high-ticket course.
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