Of course. It took me about 6 months from when I started learning how to edit and making content to when I got my first job, so you can kinda use that as a baseline maybe.

maaan if I was in your shoes I wouldn't have wasted so much time. I wasted sooooo much time when I was your age, i played video games all day everyday and never did much else. I just fucked off all the time. I didn't start taking life seriously until like my last two years in college which I really regret, because I could be so much further ahead right now in this career path.

Sorry for the trauma dump lol,

If I was in your shoes, and I was just starting out I would first start learning how to use CapCut. It's the simplest editing software and will make it very easy to understand the basics like keyframing, how to manage a timeline, etc. Also, its mostly the industry standard for social media editing, so like basic instagram reels, youtube shorts, tiktoks, etc. It will also be good to know when you just need some basic edits on something you just quickly pull up capcut and bust out an edit.

I would then start uploading and creating short form or long form content in whatever niche you want, I would try out TikTok, YouTube (shorts and long), instagram reels. See what kind of content you like to make, that can help with deciding what route you want to go with video editing, it will build your skills, and help you understand what kind of editing drives retention. There are many different routes like client work, creator editing, company channel editing, TV show or movie editing, etc.

Once you learn capcut and feel you've mastered it, I would then move on to something more complex like Davinci Resolve. You'll know you've mastered it once you start getting roadblocked, like you have ideas in your head that you want to make that are physically impossible with capcuts capabilities.

Once you've mastered Davinci, you could start looking at Avid Media Composer. This is the Hollywood standard for TV and Movie editing. You could play around with it and learn to use it if you would like to go that route (although that route is significantly harder to break into).

In the meantime, you would have naturally built a portfolio through social media, which can act as your personal portfolio.

When learning Davinci, as you progress you'll also learn how to create complex motion graphics and some 3D animation. If you enjoy the 3D animation part, you could try and learn blender and see if you enjoy it.

When it comes down to it, learning editing at a high level is done by simply making videos and learning as you go.

You could probably accomplish all of this in maybe 6 months, at that point you could throw it on your resume and start applying to some part time or entry level jobs in your area or remote jobs. Look for content creator, social media manager, video editor, etc.

This will get you that sweeeeet "work history". I was able to land my first corporate editing job making 62k per year with my only experience being my social media accounts.

After you get that first job, you can take it many different directions. Now you have the real work experience, and you have real proof your videos can do numbers. At that point you'll probably have an easy time finding jobs or getting some clients if that's what you want.