Starting YouTube alongside a job is viable if you design for limited hours. The mistake is copying full-time creators' upload frequency. Your constraint is energy and time, not ambition.
Pick a format you can produce in 90 minutes of filming and 2–3 hours of editing: screen tutorials, desk reviews, or talking-head explainers. Avoid travel vlogs and complex B-roll until the pipeline works.
Record two videos in one session. Edit one midweek, one on the weekend. Publish on fixed days so subscribers and the algorithm see consistency even at low volume.
Do not use company equipment, confidential topics, or work hours. Build on evenings. Disclose side projects if your employment contract requires it.
Only when revenue and savings cover 6–12 months of expenses and your upload pipeline survives a busy month at work without disappearing for three weeks.