97 million TikTok views = 1 year of pay from your day job

TikTok
(Image credit: TikTok)

Being a TikToker is many people's idea of a dream job (though for us, it's more like the stuff of nightmares). So what do you have to do to make your dream a reality? Simple: rack up 97 million views on the platform and you will earn the national average salary in the UK – then you can quit your day job.

That's according to data from a study of 40 European countries, to see how many views are required to earn the respective national average salaries on TikTok as well as YouTube. 

So in the United Kingdom, where the average salary is $28,027 / £25,971 / AU$43,272, you would need to hit a total of 97,488,739 views on TikTok or 8,629,386 million on YouTube to earn a year's pay. 

While the UK sits at 11th place in the rankings of top annual salary, the highest wages are enjoyed in Switzerland – where the average pay packet is more than double, at $62,887 / £58,281 / AU$97,000. And according to the study, conducted by Reboot SEO Firm (opens in new tab), Swiss TikTokers would need an eye-watering 218,772,523 views while YouTubers would require 19,365,032.

At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest annual salary is just $3,407 / £3,154 / AU$5,252. And to put the same average pay into their pockets, Turks would need to rack up 11,839,339 views on TikTok or 1,047,980 on YouTube.

Particularly with the ongoing cost of living crisis, more and more people are looking to start a side hustle to bring in more bacon. If you're looking at becoming a content creator, though, these stats might make for some sobering reading! 

If you haven't been put off, make sure to check out our guides to the best YouTube cameras (opens in new tab), best cameras for TikTok (opens in new tab), and best TikTok lighting (opens in new tab)

Read more: 

Best cameras for vlogging (opens in new tab)
Best cameras for streaming (opens in new tab)
Best ring lights for content creators (opens in new tab)
Best green screen backgrounds (opens in new tab)

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James Artaius
Editor

The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera Magazine (opens in new tab)PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine (opens in new tab)N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine (opens in new tab)Digital Photographer (opens in new tab) and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show (opens in new tab). He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.