How I earn $900,000 a year as a dermatologist
This is an installment of CNBC Make It's Millennial Money series, which profiles people across the globe and details how they earn, spend and save their money.
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CNBC
16 hours ago
- CNBC
India's social media stars are turning to business—and the industry is booming
Preeti Sarkar started posting on YouTube at the age of 18. Today, the 24-year-old has amassed a following of about 1.6 million on both Instagram and YouTube, and has launched her own clothing brand. She's part of the growing wave of influencers in India who have started their own businesses since establishing a social media presence. Many top creators in India are leveraging their existing fan bases to build direct-to-consumer businesses —from Nitibha Kaul's beauty brand and Kusha Kapila's shapewear brand to Gaurav Taneja's sports nutrition brand. "It's a very recent trend for the influencers [in India.] ... Historically, we've seen successful entrepreneurs in India who have become influencers, and not the other way [around]," Amiya Swarup, who heads marketing advisory and is a partner at EY, told CNBC Make It. India's creator economy has seen a big surge in recent years. According to a May report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), there are now over 2 million monetized content creators influencing more than $350 billion in consumer spending in the country. Direct revenue from the creator ecosystem is also projected to grow from about $20 billion to $25 billion in the 2024 fiscal year to more than $100 billion by the end of the decade, according to the report. Creators today aren't just entertainers — they're also shaping consumer preferences and purchase decisions. The ecosystem is projected to drive more than $1 trillion in "creator-influenced" consumption by 2030, according to the BCG report. Sarkar says she started creating YouTube videos in 2018 about skincare, fashion and more. She's based in Kolkata and most of her content is in Bengali. "At that time in our ... town, [YouTube] was not so famous, and people did not know what content creation actually is and what potential it holds," Sarkar told CNBC Make It. Her original filming setup was very simple. It consisted of a bucket, which she flipped upside down and used as a tripod for her phone. "Every day for eight to 10 hours, I just sat down and edited the videos. So it was a very long, tiring process that I did for five years, and there was no success," Sarkar said. "But one day, I just decided: 'What if I just take my mask down and I just show people who I actually am?' ... So I just started making videos without makeup, without any filter, just kept my phone in my hand and started talking, and that became my brand. My identity is very authentic," she added. "People connect to me because they see themselves in me. I am that clumsy girl ... So I would say that my personal brand is all about being genuine, and whatever flaws I have, I just show it to the world," she said. It's that very strategy of showing up authentically online that Sarkar and many other influencers have credited for attracting their loyal followings. Today, Sarkar is using a similar strategy to market her clothing brand, Preetizen. Instead of hiring professional models for her marketing campaign, Sarkar decided to launch a social media campaign in February asking her followers to apply to become models for her clothing line. "We made [it] a community driven brand ... I told them: 'If you want to become a model, I do not care about your height, skin tone, or however you look ... I just want you to write [that you are] interested on this post, and I will select 10 people to become the face of my brand," she said. "And you won't believe [it.] There were 60,000 plus comments ... I was getting calls. It was crazy, and we went through most of them, and we selected 10 people," said Sarkar, adding that the marketing campaign was a big turning point for her company. Similarly, influencers have become an integral part of many marketing campaigns in India. That's largely because content creators have audiences that trust them and their recommendations — which is crucial for sales, Swarup said. Influencers in India are creating personalized content that can appeal to specific regions and hyper-local preferences. That can be very difficult for traditional media to do, so content creators are bridging that gap, Swarup added. "I think ... brands have also realized that authentic and transparent influencer engagement [can] benefit the brands significantly," he added. It has long been common to see creators in the U.S. leverage their audiences to create income streams, but the trend is relatively nascent in India. It's come by way of natural progression, Swarup said. In recent years, smartphones and data have become more accessible and affordable in India. "In 2008, there were 346 million registered mobile SIM cards in India. Between 2008 and 2024, this number more than tripled," according to Data for India. Data usage in India has grown from about 12 gigabytes a month in the 2020 fiscal year to about 27 gigabytes a month in the 2024 fiscal year, according to BCG. "It's all about demand and supply ... Data consumption has really skyrocketed thanks to low [cost data] packages which consumers are [using]," Swarup said. "So influencers have grown subsequently, and as their paychecks increase, their wallet size increases, right? They are obviously looking [into] other avenues of monetization, beyond just the content on YouTube or Instagram," he added. Notably, the Covid-19 pandemic also gave a big boost to the industry, Swarup said. "We are at an inflection point where the influencer marketing [industry] has really grown during the Covid and the post-Covid time, because [many people] went digital, and that was the only form of engagement, interaction, or ... communication that was happening," he said.
CNBC
2 days ago
- CNBC
$20K pay cuts, lower titles, odd jobs: Workers are making big trade-offs to find meaningful work in today's job market
Seri Thompson has been on the job market for eight months. In that time, she's applied to over 180 jobs. Some of them are related to her new communications degree, like for social media or marketing jobs. Lately she's also applied to jobs unrelated to her field, like assistant or retail positions. In the meantime, she has a part-time internship with a local San Diego bakery and keeps a steady rotation of babysitting, pet-sitting, house-sitting and other odd jobs to pay her bills. Thompson, 22, graduated from college in December 2024 and is pragmatic about her job search, but still finds it frustratingly slow. "The perfect job doesn't exist," she tells CNBC Make It. She says her parents taught her to recognize that "once you get that first job, it's just a stepping stone for the rest of your career." "But it's hard being invested in something that you're not super interested in, or settling, for a job to pay your bills," she says. "I feel like with my generation, people want to be really invested in what they are doing and like the work that they are doing." While Thompson would like a meaningful job — which she defines as being with a supportive company that prizes employee well-being and development — she knows she may not get that right now. As it turns out, in today's challenging job market, finding meaningful work is becoming a luxury not everyone can afford. Most workers say it's important to them that they do meaningful work in their jobs, according to a July survey of over 1,200 American adults from UserTesting, the survey platform. Respondents defined meaningful work on a personal level, as in one that allows them balance and flexibility, followed by external factors like making a social or environmental impact and helping financial and economic concerns are becoming a bigger factor in what they prioritize in their jobs. A majority, 85%, of Americans say economic uncertainty has changed what they value most in a job, with the bulk of them now prioritizing stability, salary and flexibility. The current market is leading people to stay in unfulfilling jobs and avoid switching industries, according to survey data. And roughly 1 in 3 people said they would give up their dream job in exchange for one with more career stability. That's how Thompson is trying to approach the situation. "I'm just trying to keep my chin up and have grace for myself, knowing that it's like a really tough market right now," Thompson says. "I'm just in this waiting period." While a majority, 62%, of respondents from the UserTesting survey say they're somewhat or very optimistic about their job search, about 23% are pessimistic. Roughly 1 in 4 job-seekers say they're experiencing burnout or mental health issues on the search, and 16% say ageism is an obstacle. Bruce Bennett has applied to "well over 100" jobs and says the process has taken a mental toll. "I've gotten to the point where I don't even really read the job description," says Bennett, 62, an HR professional in San Francisco. "I only look for certain keywords, like, what is the job title? What is the [HR] platform that they're using?" He often sees online listings with over 100 applicants, at one point seeing a company post that they'd received over 1,000 submissions to one opening. "It's a crap shoot," Bennett says. "I know 99% of the time I'm going to get rejected." Bennett was laid off from his last job in October 2024 following a company selloff. The current job market feels similar to, if not worse, than the 2000s-era dot com bubble burst, he says. Bennett says he's never been the type of professional to take any job for the sake of more money or a flashier title. But he does want to work for a company that he feels makes a positive impact, and one that has a diverse executive team. It's challenging to hold onto those values in the current climate, though. "If I find something, great," he says. "If I don't, I'm basically looking into forced retirement." Bennett feels his age plays a role in moving through interviews, typically when the hiring team asks questions to gauge so-called culture fit, he says, or sees that his resume is two pages long (though he has experience he no longer includes to keep it shorter). Bennett believes having options in today's job market, let alone finding meaningful work, is a luxury. "I don't think you necessarily have a choice on being that picky," he says, noting that finding a well-aligned job often comes down to your network and what jobs are available. These days, he's found an outlet that brings him both joy and a little extra income: About nine years ago, Bennett began volunteering as a walking tour guide around San Francisco; more recently, he launched his own paid tour offerings. His husband's job supports their main living expenses, but Bennett's new venture helps "bring in some money and at least put[s] food on our table." "It's not a lot of money," he adds, "but it's something that at least makes me happy, helping my own mental state, and helps people around the city. I think that's far greater than anything I've ever done." Some workers are realizing that to hang onto what they value most in their jobs, they'll have to make concessions. Jill Di Benedetto, 42, is an art director in Miami. She's been on the job market for five months after her last contract ended, and another two she had lined up both cut their budgets and eliminated jobs before she started. She's applied to at least 70 jobs but stopped keeping track and describes her search experience as "volatile." "I'm pretty staunch on what I look for," Di Benedetto says, noting that doing meaningful work to her means working with a good team and reaching a customer and "changing someone's life." But she's had to come to terms that she'll likely earn a much lower salary in her next role. Di Benedetto says many of the openings she's fielded offer a salary at least $20,000 lower than her last one. Further, "I don't care what my title is," she says. "That has gone out the window. I just want to work with great people and be paid my worth." She stays grounded with lessons she's learned from former colleagues who've shaped how she views her career. "The people that I've gravitated towards the most have taught me that your career is not always linear," Di Benedetto says. "Sometimes it's all over the place, and it doesn't have to be what everyone else thinks it should be. It's a personal journey." Even in a tough market, some workers are opting to take their careers into their own hands and make big changes, knowing that the process could take some time. Kaleah Mcilwain, 28, is a digital editor in Philadelphia. She quit her last job in media eight months ago in search of something more aligned with the kind of impact she wants to make in her audience development work. It's her third time on the job market since graduating from college, and the most competition she's ever experienced. In a sea of qualified applicants, she's learned that "if you do not meet the requirements 100%, unfortunately, this is just not the job market to be applying to jobs where you're reaching," she says. She also thinks meaningful work is a luxury. She's seen peers take pay cuts or shift careers in order to pay the bills. But it's a luxury she's positioned herself to continue striving for. "I was fully aware that I may not find a job in three months, or however long, and I am very solidified around these are the things I want, so I'm not budging on them. And that is a luxury I can have, because I did choose to leave my own job." Mcilwain says she lives with a roommate and spent time building up her savings in order to quit without a job lined up. So far, Mcilwain says she's applied to three or four dozen roles and has been supplementing her income with freelance work. "I am committed to it just taking however long it takes at the moment," she says. Mcilwain says she's steadfast in her goals. "I've had to ask myself the question, 'Will I change my career paths?' And the answer is, 'No, I won't.' I'm going to just wait until I find the job that I want."
CNBC
3 days ago
- CNBC
41-year-old American lives on $3,633 a month in France: 'I wish I had the courage to move sooner'
When Adriel Sanders first visited Paris in 2017, she immediately felt at home, she says. "It instantly clicked. I was like, 'This is your home. This is where you're supposed to be in the world and this is where you will always be. I knew I had to move to Paris," Sanders tells CNBC Make It. Sanders returned to Paris several times while continuing to work as a general counsel for a publicly traded company in Washington, D.C. At the time, she was earning $286,656 a year and lived in a studio apartment where she paid approximately $3,000 a month in rent, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. "I didn't enjoy the work and the expectation to work all the time and I will probably be one of the only attorneys who says it, but I don't think it's that intellectually stimulating," Sanders says. "I was deeply and truly miserable at the very depths of my little heart and little soul. I knew that it was not sustainable." Three years after that initial trip to Paris, Sanders quit her job, broke her lease and started the process of obtaining a French visa. She landed in the city the day before France closed its borders due to the covid-19 pandemic. "The slowness of the world meant that France sped up. We were all operating from the same level of confusion, so the good thing is that I was confused by what was happening, but so was everyone else," Sanders says. "I arrived the day before the lockdown, so there was no one and it was a complete dystopia." When Sanders first moved, she lived in a few short-term rentals before signing a lease for a one-bedroom apartment. She paid 1,550 euros or $1,815 USD and lived in it for two years. Since moving out of that apartment, Sanders has been living in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment where she pays $2,540 USD a month in rent. Since Sanders signed a lease for what is called an "unfurnished apartment," it meant that she had to spend money buying her own kitchen cabinets, stove and washing machine. She estimates that she spent about $5,000 on the kitchen and close to another $10,000 to make the place really feel like home. In addition to rent, Sanders spends, on average, about 933 euros or $1,093 USD on expenses, which include household bills like cable, internet, renter's insurance, dry cleaning, electricity and gas, private health insurance, groceries, and a Navigo transportation card. She also has an annual subscription to the Louvre, which costs 95 euros a year and a second museum card that can add an extra 50-100 euros a year to her expenses. Sanders also pays 1,069.20 euros, or approximately $1,252, annually to a guarantor service, which allows her to continue renting in France. Now that Sanders has been living in her apartment for over three years, she plans to revisit her search for a home to buy. She started looking two years ago, but stopped after touring many places that she felt were overpriced. "With the advice of friends who have recently purchased in Paris, I am determined again. Finding the right place will be a grind, but I am tired of renting in Paris," Sanders says. I desperately need more space and I want to get a dog." While Sanders wants to set down roots in Paris, she also hopes to eventually buy a home in the countryside too. "I don't think it would be nice to put a dog like a golden retriever in central Paris, where he doesn't have a backyard, so that is my dream," she says. Living in France has also inspired Sanders to finally pursue her real dreams of starting her own fashion brand, Adriel Felise. Sanders says she's taking $200,000 from her business account and $70,000 from her personal savings and putting that towards her new business venture. That money and her income from content creation is helping fund her dreams. "I love fashion and I'm so happy that I can now just say that and be upfront about it because for so long it was treated as something that made me less serious," she says. Sanders is self-funding the production of her initial samples and prototypes, but hopes to raise at least $2 million and have her 10-piece collection ready for launch in 2026. When Sanders was working as a lawyer, she used to take walks around her office building and dream about starting a fashion line, and now seeing it come to life still doesn't feel real. "There's still a part of me that strives and pushes for more so I don't know if I'm fully ready to say I'm proud but I feel like I'm actually happy, which I wasn't for so long and that's huge for me," she says. "My goal and desire is to inspire women — particularly black and brown women — to just pursue their dreams and goals. When they do it does not matter. The most important thing is that they be bold, move wisely, and just go for it." Since Sanders has been in France for about five years now, she says she doesn't think she'll ever go back to living in the United States. "I can't live there. I can't function like that. I can't go back to corporate America and holding my tongue every five seconds every day," she says. "I wish I had had the courage to move sooner. I wish I had the courage to do it after my first semester of law school to either drop out or enroll in business school and do something different that would have given me more options."
