Monetizing YouTube is another of of those craziest dreams. It works out for 2% or a little bit more for some people and it doesn't for a whole others. It's even riskier because these guys can wake up one day and take away the account that might've taken 8 years to build or something like that.
As for starting from nothing, it's a great way to go, but for inconsistent people it'll probably not work out because there are so many grounds you to cover, lots of efforts to put in.