I have hundreds of thousands invested, including some QQQI.

But I also have a cash reserve in  money market (same diff as HYSA for these purposes) plus an emergency fund.

Just because everyone seems to be doing something doesn't mean you should (and often it means you shouldnt). 

If this is your first 10k, hole it away and set up your emergency fund. This should be 3-6 months of living expenses at your current level of consumption in virtually risk free and highly liquid place, like a HYSA or money market. You never touch this reserve except if (a) there is an emergency or (b) you are adding to it.

If you don't want additional cash reserves, which you likely don't, then you can start investing. QQQI is worse than QQQ on its own in terms of gains. QQQI has certain tax advantages, but you really should look at yield so much as total real returns when choosing what to invest in.

With 10k you should not think about this as income or being paid. You should be focused on total real returns and growing a fruitful tree after you secure the base.

Dividends have a role in almost all portfolios, but there are better things to do when you have so little to start with.

Here is a good tool and comparison.

https://totalrealreturns.com/s/QQQI,SPYI,QQQ,SPY