Is Full-time Self-media a Worthwhile Venture? A 2025 Analysis

Is Full-time Self-media a Dead-end or a Promising Path?

This topic involves two concepts: "legitimate job" and "prospects".

A "legitimate job" can be understood as a regular, normal occupation that is recognized by the public, especially officially.

So, under what circumstances will a profession be recognized? It needs to create value for society, enable practitioners to earn money, provide a certain number of job opportunities (i.e., many people are engaged in this profession), and gradually become standardized or form a certain system.

Take the e-sports and live-streaming industries as examples. Initially, they were not recognized, but later they were gradually accepted by the public.

This is because they can generate economic benefits, provide income for practitioners, and offer plenty of job opportunities.

From this perspective, self-media has also gained a relatively high degree of recognition at present.

However, whether an individual's engagement in self-media is considered a waste of time doesn't depend on the so - called definition of a "legitimate job", but on whether you can make money.

If you can't make money or your income is too low, even if you work a regular job, people might still say you're not doing something proper. This is a result - oriented view.

The second concept is "prospects".

"Prospects" mean being able to make money in the future. I have to say that the Chinese language is really charming. The word "prospects" is used so cleverly, making it sound high - class and not tacky.

So, can you make money, or even more money, by doing self - media full - time in the future?

It's difficult. Nowadays, it's hard to make continuous profits by working alone. The competitiveness and efficiency of an individual are limited, and it's hard for one person to compete with a team.

Of course, it doesn't mean you can't do it at all. Before deciding to do self - media full - time, you can first see if you can achieve results part - time and how much you can earn each year after getting it off the ground.

If you can earn 300,000 to 500,000 yuan through part - time self - media for three consecutive years, then you can consider going full - time.

The requirement of three consecutive years is to rule out factors such as luck, trends, and industry cycles. If you can make continuous profits for three years, it means you really have the corresponding ability.

An income of 300,000 to 500,000 yuan is the ceiling of the workplace income for most people. If you can really reach this level, then it's feasible to do self - media full - time; if not, there's no need to go full - time.

The number of people who are suitable to work full - time as freelancers or even start a business is a minority.

Unless you're very determined that you can do it, for example, you meet the requirements in terms of ability, funds, and family support, then you can give it a try.

Otherwise, there's no need to quit your job voluntarily.

Like me, I've always been doing it part - time, using my spare time from work. Even stealing a little time during work is productive. I'm more motivated to do it in my free time.

Is being a freelancer really free? At least starting a business isn't free. It's even more tiring. If you start a business just to escape the workplace, there's a 99% chance of failure.

Similarly, if you become a freelancer just to escape the workplace, it's mostly an act of avoidance. Most likely, after a few months or a year, when your savings are almost used up and your freelance work can't support you, you'll be forced to go back to the workplace.

To sum up, regarding whether it's a waste of time and whether there are prospects.

The answer isn't important. Whether it's the workplace, self - media, freelancing, or starting a business, it's all about exchanging personal value with the market.

Always focus on what value you can create and what problems you can solve. If you find that you seem unable to provide any value, you need to be vigilant.

Whether it's in the workplace or starting a business, it will be very dangerous.

Daily Reading & Writing by Xiaolu 2025.03.15 [Day 558]