Why Recent Grads are Choosing the Creator Economy Over the Corporate Workplace

In 2013, Time magazine labeled Millennials as the “me, me, me generation”, saying they are lazy and entitled, destined to never move out of their parents house.

This time around, Gen-Z is being characterized as anti-work, lacking the desire to participate in the traditional grind required to earn a buck. Like other stereotypes before them, there’s not much truth to it.

However, an emerging trend is that those new to the workforce are passing on traditional career routes because of stagnant earnings, limited promotion potential, and inflexible work policies—just to name a few reasons—and opting for less structured, more hands-on opportunities.

For anyone drawn to the creator economy, it holds a viable alternative. The market is worth an estimated $104 billion, and it’s growing.

This is the start of a series where we highlight the faces that makeup the creator economy—getting a detailed look at the people and operations behind some of our favorite creators, and what it takes to make videos for millions of followers.

Today, we’re featuring Daniel McMahon, a 22-year-old video editor and content creator based in the UK. He graduated last year from Norwich University of the Arts and is currently working as a supervising editor for YouTubers Jack Neel, who posts comedy and true crime content, and Karan Rajan, who covers medicine and science.

The following responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.

How he got here:

The film industry has always been the only option for me—and by my final year of university I was ready to explore a career in writing and directing. It wasn't until a TikTok I made accidentally went viral that I realized that A) I was more into editing, and B) this whole content creator route is way more up my street. I think the conventional ladder up the industry would've eventually driven me mad.

Karan reached out to me in the summer of 2021. At the time I was just making little editing tutorials on TikTok, and I guess he saw some potential in me. He only came across me because some of my videos would find themselves on his For You Page. I did a few edit gigs for him last year, mostly short-form stuff, but our weekly YouTube routine only really got going this year.

Now, I work remotely as a supervising editor for both of them, with less hands on the actual timeline and more of an emphasis on overseeing someone else's edit. It allows for more time for my own work while still providing value to Karan and Jack. This was only possible by earning their trust over months by showing them my editing capabilities.

Stepping into a leadership role has been a great experience. After a year of 12-hour editing shifts, it's been great to use my experience to coach other editors while stepping off the gas pedal myself.

Career goals:

I'd love to go full-time working only on my own content. I want to make long-form documentaries and narrative films.

It's been great working for clients and the experience has ultimately been extremely useful, but I'm hungry to grow my own platforms. To build a team who's only focus is to collaborate on my creative vision, that's the dream.

Jack and Karan were both really understanding when I stepped down from the main editing responsibilities to work as a supervisor instead. As they both know the life of a creator, they've encouraged me since the start.

Best advice:

I can only really advise the way it worked for me. I was just obsessed with creating and sharing something every day.

I focused on building my TikTok page, showcasing my abilities, and continually learning. Before I knew it, my page found traction and I was being noticed by the very accounts I looked up to.

I've been very lucky in that almost every connection I've made reached out to me. You probably shouldn't wait around for that. Sometimes just a simple comment or DM can blossom a connection that'll change your life.

Our Take

Let TikTok be your resume. In Daniel’s case, his content spoke for itself and drew its own list of clients. If you think you have something to add to a creator's work, showing what you can do for them is a lot more convincing than telling them.

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