HOW TO GET A
JOB AT YOUTUBE
Careers, Hiring Process, and Salaries
YouTube is the largest video-sharing website in the world. As is the case with most tech giants, landing a job at YouTube can be difficult if you don’t know how to go about it. It helps to know in advance, for one thing, that YouTube values drive and passion as much as skills. Follow along as we share everything you need to know about how to get a job at YouTube.
YouTube Background
Steve Chen, Jawed Karim, and Chad Hurley founded YouTube in 2005. Since then, it has evolved into a multibillion-dollar company, with an estimated global workforce of over 4,000 employees. From its headquarters in San Bruno, California, YouTube continues to provide over two billion active monthly users with a versatile platform to stream and watch videos.
The fact that you don’t have to have tech industry skills to create exclusive content and become your own YouTube video editor is appealing to most people. Starting with something as simple as consistency of content creation on your YouTube channel, you can gain audience loyalty and be on par with some of the highest-earning YouTube stars in the world.
What’s It Like to Work at YouTube
YouTube provides a delightful working environment for its employees. Not only does it pay better than similar companies, but it works to create a fast-paced and lively atmosphere, which sets it apart from most nine-to-five jobs. From video chats with people on the opposite side of the world to learning fun, innovative skills, the YouTube company atmosphere proves to be a welcome addition to the video streaming content landscape.
As you’ll see below, employees at YouTube are generally satisfied with their lives at the company.
What Employees Say About Working at YouTube
Most current employees of YouTube say that they enjoy working at the company. According to reviews on Indeed, YouTube allows employees to create their own work schedules. This means that they can work from anywhere and at any time. Other popular aspects of working at YouTube include fair compensation, health insurance, and free lunches.
However, some YouTube employees had a few negative experiences to report. For instance, competition at YouTube is fierce and many employees feel pressure to meet the company’s expectations for creativity. Those who put in long hours are rewarded for their dedication, but not every full-time employee is happy devoting even more of their life to YouTube.
YouTube Work Environment and Culture
YouTube has a unique work environment because it provides the ability to work from anywhere. It is many people’s dream job to be able to work from home, and depending on your position, you may not need to sit in an office to do your job.
Even with its large remote workforce, this American tech company still strives to infuse the company culture with its values. These include giving employees the freedom to express their opinions and share their ideas. YouTube understands that the company cannot remain on top unless its workers have a voice in how the company operates.
YouTube also makes an effort to extend these values to the billions of people who use the platform. Many of these people make money using the platform, and every full-time YouTuber is a valued member of the YouTube family. Content owners have the freedom to get their own brand of content to viewers
YouTube Careers: Job Requirements,
Salaries, and Descriptions
The salaries, responsibilities, and job requirements for positions at YouTube vary by department. On the whole, however, the average salary for a YouTube career is quite high, especially for positions that require tech skills. All the jobs listed below were available at the time of writing, and the salary estimates come from Glassdoor and PayScale.
Software Engineer, Android Applications
Salary: $144,968
Level: Senior
Minimum Experience Required: 7 years of software development experience
Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science
This software engineer designs, develops, tests, and improves Android components. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to create robust and scalable software solutions.
Data Analyst, YouTube Ads Finance
Salary: $102,463
Level: Senior
Minimum Experience Required: 4 years of experience in quantitative data analysis
Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience in a relevant field
To become a data analyst on the YouTube Ads Finance team, you need to be prepared to lead data-driven projects and carry out complex queries and analyses. You will manage a team of data analysts as you apply your analysis skills to boost ad revenue.
Operations Manager, TV and Media Solutions
Salary: $101,032
Level: Mid-level
Minimum Experience Required: 3 years of experience in traditional media or over-the-top (OTT) media
Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience in a relevant field
As an operations manager, you will use business skills to plan and execute content for YouTube. You will also manage daily digital operations and oversee video-on-demand (VoD) services for YouTube TV. The tech aspect of this job is that you need to know how to apply automation solutions to improve growth.
Business Analyst, Trust and Safety
Salary: $75,635
Level: Mid-level
Minimum Experience Required: 3 years of experience in data science, corporate strategy, or both
Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics or Computer Science
At YouTube, business analysts are tasked with measuring and analyzing how the company is doing on its trust and safety initiatives, as well as developing new policies to protect and support YouTube’s users. What’s more, you will work with other departments to come up with actionable insights and put together presentations for policymakers.
Web Solutions Engineer, Business Technology
Salary: $130,566
Level: Mid-level
Minimum Experience Required: 2 years of experience in C++
Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience in a relevant field
The primary duty of this type of engineer involves innovating and developing software-based data processing systems. These solutions should be fully functional at an enterprise scale. You will also have to generate data feeds that support YouTube’s business growth.
Program Manager, Creator Policy Experience
Salary: $168,047
Level: Senior
Minimum Experience Required: 8 years of program management experience, experience with software development
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field
The program manager’s job entails identifying opportunities to enhance the experiences of YouTube’s billions of users. Launching new initiatives in support of YouTube content creators forms part of your job. You will lead complex, multi-disciplinary projects from start to finish.
Product Specialist, YouTube Partner Program
Salary: $141,266
Level: Mid-level
Minimum Experience Required: 4 years of experience in technology
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field
This product specialist works to understand various YouTube products from the perspective of the end-user. You need to have the communication skills to explain the value of specific products to users who want to monetize their content. Products that you will be responsible for include content creation tools, consumer applications, and paid advertisements.
Product Marketing Manager, YouTube Subscriptions Growth
Salary: $149,628
Level: Senior
Minimum Experience Required: 8 years of digital marketing experience
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field
The purpose of this product manager is to track subscription growth and seek ways to attract more YouTube subscriptions. This digital marketing career comes with global responsibilities. You will work with YouTube marketing teams and product departments across many countries to bring what YouTube has to offer to every corner of the world.
Engineering Program Manager, YouTube Community
Salary: $136,975
Level: Senior
Minimum Experience Required: 15 years experience in engineering
Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science
As an engineering program manager, you will lead teams of engineers, programmers, and user experience experts. Coordinating the activities of these experts and hiring new employees to grow the team are the most important parts of the job.
Senior User Experience Researcher, YouTube Shorts
Salary: $144,882
Level: Senior
Minimum Experience Required: 5 years experience in UX research
Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science
User experience researchers work hand-in-hand with program managers, engineers, and designers on multiple complex projects. Their main role is to research to figure out user needs and come up with ideas to improve how users interact with YouTube Shorts.
How to Get
a Job at YouTube
To get any of the YouTube jobs listed above, you’ll need to go through an intense hiring process. There’s an online application, a phone screening, and several rounds of in-person interviews, all before they come to a decision. But with the right qualifications, attitude, and preparation, you can beat out the hundreds of people you’ll be competing against.
Is It Hard to Get a Job at YouTube?
Yes, getting a job at YouTube is pretty hard. The volume of applications YouTube receives from qualified applicants is high. To compete with other candidates, you need to be established in your chosen career. While YouTube doesn’t always require a degree, you’ll have to prove your knowledge and skills in the relevant areas.
How to Apply for a Job at YouTube
YouTube Hiring Process
You can apply for a job at YouTube through the YouTube Jobs page or via a third-party job listings website. Applying on YouTube’s own job board is probably your best bet. That way, you can view all the openings, read up on relevant company policies, and get application tips straight from the source.
Third-party career websites will allow you to set a job alert if you’d like. Simply enter your email address to get on the website’s email list and start your new career path.
The entire hiring process is transparent and simple. However, the rigorous interviews for positions in a technical field can be scary if you don’t have the right skills, expertise, and professional experience. Let’s go through the hiring process so you can start getting prepared.
1
Resume
Considering the volume of applications YouTube receives daily, your resume has to be superb. Don’t be like most job seekers and submit a skeletal resume. Make sure your job materials are pristine before moving to the next step.
2
Apply Online
Create your resume from scratch for each role you apply for. Make sure it’s concise and job specific. In your cover letter and resume, focus on the projects you have worked on and how you measured their success. Highlight projects where you demonstrated leadership and technical skills.
3
Interviews
The interview process varies depending on the position you’re applying for. Some positions require in-depth, possibly hour-long interviews while others simply consist of a short virtual chat, an online assessment, or a small project. Whether the interview is held on-site or over video, you can expect it to be rigorous. Some candidates have multiple rounds of interviews in a single day.
4
Decision and Offer
Sometime after your interview, a YouTube recruiter will reach out to let you know if you’re hired. If you accept the offer, the YouTube onboarding team will walk you through compensation, benefits, and badging.
What Should I Study to Get a Job at YouTube?
Most lucrative positions at YouTube require tech skills, so you should take tech-related courses. However, YouTube has many other positions related to digital content creation. For these, you should try to learn things like social media marketing, video editing, digital awareness, and content research.
Can a Coding Bootcamp Get Me a Job at YouTube?
Yes, coding bootcamps can help you land a job at YouTube faster. Assuming you don’t have any tech experience or skills, bootcamps can get you prepared in no time. Whether you take a part-time or full-time program, you’ll likely be done with your training in less than a year. Best of all, some bootcamps even have a hiring partnership with YouTube.
Bootcamp courses hone in on specific skills, so you can choose the right program for you based on the YouTube job opening that interests you. If you need to learn a certain programming language for a software engineering job, for instance, you can sign up for a bootcamp program that focuses on teaching that language.
How to Get a Job at YouTube FAQ
How much does YouTube pay its employees on Average?
According to PayScale, the average base salary for a YouTube employee is about $91,000. The average YouTube employee also earns about $11,000 per year in bonuses.
How much will I earn for YouTube 100,000 views?
According to Glassdoor, however, established YouTube content creators earn nearly $50,000 per year on average. The specific amount that a YouTube content creator makes per 100,000 views, however, depends on a number of factors. High-profile YouTubers have a high frequency of content and avoid divisive content so no one clicks the unsubscribe link.
How does YouTube get paid?
YouTube earns money through advertisements. The two ways to earn from advertising are content-per-minute (CPM) and cost-per-click (CPC). CPC YouTubers get paid based on users’ engagement with the ads running on their videos. CPM YouTubers get paid a fixed amount.
What degree do I need to work at YouTube?
Most often, the minimum education requirement is a bachelor’s degree. If you’re applying to a tech-related job, the best degree to have is probably a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science.
