ONCE upon a time, Rachell Hofstetter worked at a car wash.
Now she’s one of the world’s best paid gamers under the name Valkyrae.
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The gamer-girl has 3.84million subscribers on YouTube and 3.7million followers on Instagram.
Hoftstetter has been the most-watched female streamer on YouTube since 2020.
But she, like many internet personalities, had humble beginnings.
Before quitting her job to pursue streaming full-time, Hofstetter worked as a waitress, at an arcade, at a car wash, a GameStop branch and as a bank teller.
Hoftstetter now has an estimated net worth of more than $450,000 (£364k), and earns a forecasted $200,000 (£162k) per month from YouTube and brand deals.
The streamer got her start on Twitch in 2015, but eventually ditched to platform in favour of YouTube in 2020.
As one of the most-watched figures in streaming, she cut a deal with YouTube Gaming to remain on the platform until at least 2024.
But she’s warned her fans not to look at the streaming industry with rose-tinted lenses.
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Last year, Valkyrae revealed in a YouTube short, that breaking into the industry is harder than most people think.
“I’m telling you right now, do not quit your job/work. Get a real job first, okay,” she said.
“If you have the intentions of streaming because you want it to be your job and you want to make money from it… Sorry, you cannot go into it with that expectation.”
Valkyrae cautioned that anyone thinking streaming is a get-rich-quick ticket would be sorely mistaken.
“It’s not going to work and you have to do this for years and years and years and years,” she said.
She instead encouraged fans to first start treating streaming as a hobby.
“You also need to create content that is going to be interesting and probably something you’re passionate about. Collaborate with people. Try different types of content,” Hofstetter continued.
“If something isn’t working or if something gets more views than other things then maybe that’s something to capitalise on.”
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