Straightforward answer needed -- how long before I can make money on YouTube views?

Googling this questions can come up with a bunch of different answers. I just want to know straight up -- if I start a channel and start getting hundreds of views, to slowly grow to a few thousand views per video, how long until I start seeing my channel make money?

You have gotten a bunch of different answers because there is not one answer that applies to everyone equally. If you want to make money through Adsense you will need to have 1k subs and 4k watch hours and then apply for the YouTube Partner Program.
On the other hand you could already be making money with different income streams such as affiliate links, sponsorships (unlikely if you just started), merchandise, etc. There are many ways to make money on YouTube.

Realistically speaking, don't expect any serious cash within your first year or two. You're not going to become a millionaire over night.

after 5 years.

26 years.. so you need a little patience

88 years, joke apart, you need 1,000 subscriber and 4,000 watch hour

BBEsports said:

This is the best answer I've gotten so far. Do you know how much YT pays per view when you are a YouTube partner?

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YouTube payout is based on your CPM (Cost per Mille = Thousand Impressions). That is how much an advertiser (e.g. RedBull) is willing to pay for thousand impressions of his ad.
CPM varies a lot depending on your niche. There are niches like music or gaming, that have rather low CPMs or niches like Tech, Finance, Real Estate thay pay really well. In the end the best advice is to find something you're passionate about and have a lot of knowledge about.
CPMs can be as low as 0.5$ / 1000 vews going up to over 40$ for 1000 views. Also the ads that are shown on your video depend on what kind of content you have in terms of language. First World countries pay a lot more than India or Africa.

Some people get monetized in a month and some do not reach that level even after years. So it completely depends on how much work you do.

You can make money fast with cpa/affiliate marketing.

With YPP it will take enough time. Either way, if you build an audience, it should work in both cases.