Hi Pat. I took a look at your campaign, and I have some feedback...
Suppose you were to raise $750, and you bought the computer gear you wanted. Now what? In order to get enough ad views to earn money, you'll have to attract a sizable audience. In 2013, YouTube's average CPM was estimated to be $7.60:
http://www.tubefilter.com/2014/02/03/youtube-average-cpm-advertising-rate/For reference, I've been actively running a YouTube channel for 3 years. Videos are posted almost every day, viewer feedback is positive, and I work hard to keep my quality bar high. I'm currently getting somewhere around 15,000 views per month, which grew organically over the 3 years I've been working on it. I'm not currently interested in ad revenue so I've opted not to become a YouTube partner, but if I enabled ads and every single one of those views was monetized, I'd still only make $114 per month - and according to the article linked above, that's before YouTube takes their 45% cut.
A few specific points:
With a gaming channel, I have better odds of monetary gain than a standard job.
Making a living from YouTube ad revenue requires a lot of time and dedication, and a huge amount of luck. It's a gamble, and from what I've heard from people who've done it successfully, it's quite a lot more effort than a traditional job. Gaming channels are quite popular, which means you'd be entering a space that's already very crowded - you're competing with the people who have established audiences of hundreds of thousands, or even millions. The more people who are doing it, the harder it is for any individual to be noticed.
There aren't any risk of being laid off due to a cutting cost.
As a YouTube partner, you're subject to the whims of Google. YouTube channels are somewhat fragile - Copyright strikes and other things can shut one down entirely. Someone I used to follow had his entire channel (and thereby livelihood) taken away because a viewer reported a few frames of uncensored boobs in one of the games he was playing that he forgot to edit out. Even if you're following the rules perfectly, if you've pissed off the wrong people, false copyright claims are a somewhat popular tactic used by trolls to take down a channel they don't like, and it can be difficult for the channel owner to refute them effectively.
Without a college degree, I won't be able to move up in ranks from entry level positions such as janitor and bagging.
I wouldn't be so sure. Not all companies are sticklers for college degrees. They can be a useful tool for getting past a resume screening, but once your foot is in the door, what usually matters is how well you perform your job, and the impression you make on your co-workers. If you can do well enough at the right company, you'll be offered opportunities for advancement, degree or not. At the very least, you'll probably be able to earn enough to buy the computer you desire, and get some valuable experience you can take with you to whatever you choose to do next.
I wish you the best and hope this didn't discourage you too much. Good luck!
