This was very insightful in a way that many will not talk about chess as a profession. It's not like a 2600 or 2700 player comes out and says these things about the money that they make. So I really appreciate the effort, transparency and time that Sam took to come out and share. I found the entire thing extremely interesting and almost wish there could be a total breakdown between what a GM made in a year - lessons vs playing vs content. Obviously it would take a very special person to do that and have that full transparency. I'm sure many Chessable authors make a lot from their content, but also many GMs including Naroditsky or Shankland who pursued the "older version" of chess content via traditional book publishing probably make significantly less from similar amounts of effort. I think Sam was fully right when he says no one can do all 3 types of chess simultaneously - playing, teaching, and content. Even though everyone may want a GM coach like Sam and pay the exorbitant amount for lessons that he himself mentions is extreme - sometimes it's not a 2700 GM you need because their playing level is so far above you, but a person that is a little higher than you which I think the Dojo program has done amazing at. Sam mentioned gap years and how a gap year really helped him. But I think the mileage on this really varies. If you are on your own, and you know you need to teach lessons and play to survive, that keeps you motivated and hungry to do it. It gives you purpose during that year to train, learn, and play and puts a "timer" on when the grind will end. But I've seen it happen personally in many cases that many people take a "gap year" and work a normal job and then never go back to college again. I think its important that this is framed well for any young person watching this video. I've also had some chess teachers in the past who were FM and needed to be IM to get scholarships, so they went overseas for a year and worked to get the title in the gap year. I'm sure they would say that investment was worth it to get free school, but you need to have that goal and purpose to stick to or else you will lose all motivation and vision.
IMHO, a chess coach/teacher should be at least 2000 ELO and have at least a teaching diploma. Unfortunately, everybody is free to teach whatever and whoever they want, there are no regulations. On the other hand, GM or IM titles are FIDE titles for chess players, they are not Teaching titles! Yet, being a GM or IM gives the advantage of getting more students and charging them an arm and a leg (over $200/hour) even if they have no teaching diplomas. A GM teaching students below 2000 ELO it may not be productive to students and it's like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
You don’t need to be 2000 to teach effectively someone rated 900; moreover, your view assumes that a higher rating makes one a better coach. This is false. There is so much that goes into being a good coach that has little to do with one’s ELO. Plenty of titled players are bad coaches and plenty of club level coaches are great coaches.
