The creator economy has a new middle class

For years, quitting your job to become a social media influencer belonged in the same category as moving to Hollywood or trying to make the NFL: technically possible but probably best attempted by other people.

Now, for a growing number of young workers, it feels like a more plausible career pivot.

The rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels and Amazon storefronts has created a new kind of white-collar exit strategy — one in which workers ditch office jobs not necessarily to become celebrities, but to piece together an income online through brand deals, affiliate links and highly personal videos documenting everyday life.