I had a happy home life. Got a degree at a damn good University. Got a good paying job. Got laid off. Decided to go back to grad school. Figured I'd have no problem finding a job with my educational background and work experience.
Wrong.
My checking account is rapidly diminishing and even McDonalds isn't hiring.
I like strip clubs. I'm in awe of strippers. I even bought a stripper pole for workout purposes. I've fantasized about dancing, but never really actually thought about doing it FOR REAL. But now that my bank account doesn't even have a comma in it anymore, dancing is starting to look like a legitimate option.
My biggest concern is professional repercussions. I worked hard for my education, and would hate to see it go to waste because of a few month stint as a stripper. I live in a small city. There's one strip club (only one for 70+ miles). I intend to stay here and find employment here as a professor, in a non-profit, or in a government sector. I might get my PhD here. Will a semester's worth of stripping put a professional future here in jeopardy?
I thought about being a waitress (avoiding some of the stripper stigma) and actually went to the club and applied. Nice divey-ish club (topless with bikini lap dances only), nice managers, nice girls (one chatted with me as I was filling out an application). The managers told me they were looking for someone with a bit more cocktail waitressing experience, but would call me within the week if they couldn't find anyone else. Did I just get the brush off? Is that code for " you're not cute enough to be a waitress here."?
Before this post turns into a novel.....someone out there tell me that they stripped their way through grad school and got a sweet ass job and none of their co workers or bosses is none the wiser....


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I am in graduate school for one of the health professions, so I am very hesitant. I have a lot of cocktail waitressing experience, but I'm a little tired and bored. The money is okay, but I feel like it could be better. I know institutions and employers can't explicitly discriminate based on a legal and legitimate job you once had, but I'm just worried about any possibility of hurting my chances in a conservative field when there is so much job competition out there. I guess there really isn't any right answer, but what have your experiences been in a big city? Do you think it's reasonable to expect no one (besides maybe close friends/family) will find out for 2-3 years?
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