Are careers a thing of the past

[Ifyouseekamy]

Btw- if any of you women are careerist; I’m super proud of you! We need women in more positions of power.

I’m just Wondering about the reality of making it in the vanilla world and putting all my eggs in investing in a career. Is it really financially secure?

From a dollar stand point-without out considering social status- is vanilla work really better in the long run.

For example my aunt is a pharmacist manager at Walgreens and she lost her job to someone younger who would do more work for less money ( sound familiar)

Nothing seems certain now n days when it comes to finding financial peace.

I’m getting a lot of pressure because I’m getting older about an exit strategy. Yes- I have a back up plan A and B. I feel at this point I’m better off trying to get as much money as I can than trying to have a come to Jesus moment where I quit dancing to invest my time in a career I don’t really care much for other than the health insurance benefits.

I have a friend with an ADN RN degree and she doesn’t even use it! It’s just an exit strategy.

[SnuffleUffleGrass]

These days-

* regional issues matter. A lot of people where I live have job security because a lot of Americans don't want to live in this area.

* your conduct matters. 20-25 years ago drug testing didn't happen everywhere. Now it's very common, even for horrible jobs. Same with background checks.

* Education always helps even if you build a career in a field that has little to nothing to do with your degree.

[rickdugan]

Yes careers are still a thing. IMHO there are a few things to keep in mind though in this evolving landscape:

1. The more you can specialize and do something that a computer or robot cannot easily do, the more longevity you will have in a career (in other words, something where a high degree of judgment, delicacy and/or artistic talent may be needed);

2. Geographic flexibility helps a lot. As the U.S. population shifts, so too do the opportunities. For example, if you are a homebuilder, or school teacher, or any number of other specialties, you'll find many more opportunities in high growth areas than you will in places with population stagnation. Florida and Texas are two great examples of this right now.

3. Learn to build relationships. Trust matters and when people trust you and what you do, you become more indispensable. To be perfectly honest, I find that whole "I was let go for someone who could do more work for less money" argument to be cop out more times than not. More often than not, the older experienced person who was let go was also a malcontent who the supervisor couldn't completely trust to take care of things. Expertise alone is not enough - character and execution matter too and a person who can be relied upon brings a lot of value to the table as it eases the burdens of those immediately above them.

Anyway, just my and good luck!

[SnuffleUffleGrass]

On the Up side of things, opportunities for self-employment are abundant with the Internet and global culture.

[miss.a.p1600]

Btw- if any of you women are careerist; I’m super proud of you! We need women in more positions of power.

I’m just Wondering about the reality of making it in the vanilla world and putting all my eggs in investing in a career. Is it really financially secure?

From a dollar stand point-without out considering social status- is vanilla work really better in the long run.

For example my aunt is a pharmacist manager at Walgreens and she lost her job to someone younger who would do more work for less money ( sound familiar)

Nothing seems certain now n days when it comes to finding financial peace.

I’m getting a lot of pressure because I’m getting older about an exit strategy. Yes- I have a back up plan A and B. I feel at this point I’m better off trying to get as much money as I can than trying to have a come to Jesus moment where I quit dancing to invest my time in a career I don’t really care much for other than the health insurance benefits.

I have a friend with an ADN RN degree and she doesn’t even use it! It’s just an exit strategy.

No vanilla career work is not "better" in the long run

I mean it depends on your goals.

If you want the biweekly set amount paycheck, the benefits n shit, to use your degree, then go for it. Technically you can get your own health insurance so you don't necessarily need an employer for that unless you have some high risk medical issues.

Plenty of people have degrees they don't use or go into different areas they just got it cause their parent told them to or to use as a backup if all else fails.

An employer can fire you or lay you off whenever and so really it is not as secure as one may think.

The better thing to do is to have more than one stream of income at all times (whether it is from a job, a self-employment gig, a business, etc) AND to make your money work for you by investing wisely.

[PhatGirlDynomite!!!]

Btw- if any of you women are careerist; I’m super proud of you! We need women in more positions of power.

I’m just Wondering about the reality of making it in the vanilla world and putting all my eggs in investing in a career. Is it really financially secure?

From a dollar stand point-without out considering social status- is vanilla work really better in the long run.

For example my aunt is a pharmacist manager at Walgreens and she lost her job to someone younger who would do more work for less money ( sound familiar)

Nothing seems certain now n days when it comes to finding financial peace.

I’m getting a lot of pressure because I’m getting older about an exit strategy. Yes- I have a back up plan A and B. I feel at this point I’m better off trying to get as much money as I can than trying to have a come to Jesus moment where I quit dancing to invest my time in a career I don’t really care much for other than the health insurance benefits.

I have a friend with an ADN RN degree and she doesn’t even use it! It’s just an exit strategy.

I think working in a mainstream society is most beneficial when you create a job for yourself. If you can find something that you're really good at and apply all of the skills you've learned from the adult industry then you will be successful. Civilians look at us as though we're unskilled workers but that's not true at all. The landscape is just different therefore it's foreign to them and doesn't allow them to see our assets. Or maybe they do but get too caught up on the sex worker thing and can't see past it?

My advice for anyone trying to transition from the adult industry is to take an honest look at your skill set and then try to use that to break into a new industry. In my experience the only thing that gives me financial security are the jobs I've created for myself. And then once I got those up and running I started to make connections with mainstream partners. But of course my perspective is coming from someone who has zero desire to work in anything corporate. Been there. Done that and it sucked. This is gonna come down to what it is that you want. Let me ask this question...Does your next career have to be in the vanilla world? What is the vanilla world? Unless it's Vanilla ice cream made with the french pot method it sounds kinda boring. Is that what you want? Because that could be why you may feel so conflicted.

[Winged Dinghy]

I don't think it's ever a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket--especially when it comes to a career.

As sex workers, we know how to navigate the terrain of self-employment, which can be scary for people who depend on a 9-to-5. I truly think self-employed people who embrace "the gig economy" and/or launch their own businesses are set to profit the most in the future, as old employment models crumble or shift drastically.

When I started working in the sex industry almost 20 years ago(!), it was a means to an end: I was paying college tuition and supporting myself during unpaid internships so I could get a job in my field--which happens to be a field that's now in decline.

I worked that job for seven years and missed dancing the whole time. I quit in 2016 to go freelance and went back to stripping one or two shifts a week. My money comes from three or four anchor clients, rental income (from a property I bought when I had a salaried vanilla job) and dancing income. I no longer feel like I need an exit plan or that dancing is a means to an end. It's work that I will do as long as I am having fun and making money.

Nothing's certain, but because my income streams are diverse, I feel like my situation is as stable as it can be in this day and age. Plus, the company where I used to work just got sold. So I might not have even had a job there if I'd stayed.

TL; DR: Vanilla careers aren't necessarily stable, but diverse streams of income can be. So maybe branch out and add a new, monetizable skill set to your hustle.

[Ifyouseekamy]

Thank you!!! I’m sorry that question sounded weird, but I guess I’m getting at is what is the new normal?

As a recovering adult child, I Just have this weird tendency to think other people know better than me what’s right and wrong for me. I get triggered by a lot of questions about what I’m doing with my life and I don’t think I’m projecting when I sense an implicit judgement.

Like Lisa Anne said, “just be finished with the industry before the industry is finished with you.”

I would never be happy retiring completely. I would like to do less physical work in the future though.

Anyways, back to the point. I agree careers aren’t a thing of the past. I can’t believe I asked it like that...lol.

As long as I’m not codependent on my club to support myself that’s all I care about is the bottom line $$$

A pipe burst in a doctor’s house. He called a plumber. The plumber arrived, unpacked his tools, did mysterious plumber-type things for a while, and handed the doctor a bill for $600.
The doctor exclaimed, “This is ridiculous! I don’t even make that much as a doctor!”
The plumber waited for him to finish and quietly said, “Neither did I when I was a doctor.”

I don’t mind if I am a plumber...lol. It is hard to deal with the judgement of being an older dancer. It’s more acceptable to be a young dancer who’s just doing it for now, espically where I’m from. My gut says from a $$$ perspective I’m on the right path so, I’ll just ignore the haters and keep on my path until something better $$$ comes along. I’m not stupid. It’s not like I’m not conscious of the pros and cons. I’m conscious of the cost vs benefits. As long as I’m making an educated decision and I’m happy that’s all that matters.

[minniesoporno]

With the way things are, normal becomes what you make of it.

I spent years thinking I had to be in college and get some career to be accepted by people who don't matter or even determine my income or lifestyle.

Now we have more options and sometimes even more control of what we want to do and how we want to do it.

I see my family dread going to work and always missing out on events they could attend but chose not to because of work. They drink or drug their pain away and get back up to work and do it all over again.

They wish they could be doing something else, but the list of excuses of why they aren't doing it are ridiculous. They can't say it's because they are raising children why they can't do something they are super passionate about, because we are all grown and out of the house many years now.

but the way they want to bring me down to their level of suffering is really sad.

I have to look at this way. I got about 30 more maybe 40 more solid working years of my life. the internet is not going anywhere and ways to make money online are pretty much almost maxed out. it's not like new career ideas are happening we pretty much maxed out those ideas as well. So it's a matter of picking something and bringing in that cash flow.

[MOCHAakaMOCHA]

THIS! Yes to multiple streams of income .

I don't think it's ever a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket--especially when it comes to a career.

As sex workers, we know how to navigate the terrain of self-employment, which can be scary for people who depend on a 9-to-5. I truly think self-employed people who embrace "the gig economy" and/or launch their own businesses are set to profit the most in the future, as old employment models crumble or shift drastically.

When I started working in the sex industry almost 20 years ago(!), it was a means to an end: I was paying college tuition and supporting myself during unpaid internships so I could get a job in my field--which happens to be a field that's now in decline.

I worked that job for seven years and missed dancing the whole time. I quit in 2016 to go freelance and went back to stripping one or two shifts a week. My money comes from three or four anchor clients, rental income (from a property I bought when I had a salaried vanilla job) and dancing income. I no longer feel like I need an exit plan or that dancing is a means to an end. It's work that I will do as long as I am having fun and making money.

Nothing's certain, but because my income streams are diverse, I feel like my situation is as stable as it can be in this day and age. Plus, the company where I used to work just got sold. So I might not have even had a job there if I'd stayed.

TL; DR: Vanilla careers aren't necessarily stable, but diverse streams of income can be. So maybe branch out and add a new, monetizable skill set to your hustle.

[Morrigan]

one of my beloveds is a formally trained career chef ( i mean REAL REAL chef, not like a diner line cook ) and she could work anywhere in the world....another has had a long career in IT, yet another is in the sciences as a botanist .... so there are three solid careers just in my circle of spouses. I on the other hand have a career first and foremost as an illustrator, concept designer and comic industry - and well, best part about it is Im my own boss at the end of the day...the others may work under a company, or a corporation, or a university and so on... but they too ultimately have a lot more leeway in getting what they want or need or making things work around them, not the other way around.... thats the perk of professional careers with a ton of time and work and training put into our skills.... though with me.. my career is successful, but defies " classic ideas" because 90% of it from the work itself, to meeting and working with clients around the globe - is all done digitally now, all things i can do from my home office, not stuck in some traditional studio or business front like days past.

my kids though, both are highly accelerated academics wise, and while say my youngest who is looking into aerospace engineering and applied physics, careers we have " now " wont be there when hes an adult in the few years.. alot of what we think of as generic or classic careers in certain fields are inevitably going to fade with advancement...thats why one has to train and work for careers that WILL BE. It's about working ahead now..or risk stagnating progress as a whole and redundancy.

so TLDR: careers are and will never be gone. just what we generally consider a career can and will be changing, or phasing out for different ones.

now.. if i have my illustrating career then why work in the adult industry? because its fun, because its a way for me to simply approach the world with a different, much more ancient art, something i can still tell or create a story through motion or expression and passion...so to me it's not really different from my other art, just a different medium.

...and it's also a good way to make income that is purely for " me" and not taken into the family accounts unless needed

[Bahuba]

Lots of good advice here. I have had two careers, and each time I've acted like a lifer and really gotten into it. I miss wall street so much sometimes, but I love having my own thing as well, and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't use my former primary skillsets in some capacity.

[Sirocco]

One of the pros for careers vs dancing is age. With years of experience in high demand fields your income will only grow and you can work till you feel like working. While in dancing your body will raise red flag at 40/50. Dancers in their 40/50 stil look great and might even make more money, but usually their bodies already tired from years in this line.
I think it's ideal to have actual job/career which you can supplement with weekend dancing.

[xxxGothBarbie]

I've never liked the idea of being a career woman personally so my opinion here may be frowned upon at but I don't care.
I think nowadays careers are a waste of time. If you can work from home, not only is it less stressful but you are your own boss! Not having to deal with people only a daily basis just added an extra 10-15 years onto my life I feel like. Besides , it seems as though everytime i turn around I'm always hearing how these young ppl 18-28 are taking the career type jobs away from older ppl simply bc they will work harder for far less $$$. I refuse to do that.

I never went to college & I don't ever plan on going. It's nothing but a waste of time IMO. Why go for ALL those years wasting your life & owing massive amounts of loans when you don't have to.

I think the whole "career thing" is a thing of the past actually. Thanks to technology & the ability to work from home doing a myriad of things.

[Morrigan]

with the right approach even collage shouldnt or does not have to cost anyone a penny if done right. One of my spouses wanted a career in the sciences. Biology, specifically something in the ecology/botany field - something where field work can have her spending most of her time deep in the woods ( and we live in the pacific north west so our forests are something special )

to start Washington state offers a scholarship for women returning to collage, because she was going into the sciences she was able to also get a Women of STEM grant, that got her started and covered her early tuition and some living expense.
soon our oldest son started university yearly ( technically should have been a HS junior but is a uni freshmen) with a full scholarship, so she ALSO got a further scholarship for parents of collage students.

With her performance and GPA she made deans list and got an invite to join the Phi Beta Kappa Society - which is considered one of the most prestigious honor societies in the US - which also gives a major scholarship. She also became close and the darling of the biology department that they all put in recommendations for yet even more scholarships that require professors to nominate students for.

on that alone, every quarter we end up with an additional 9k or so for living expenses AFTER the fees for school and books are already deducted.

shes also just recently got invited by one of the professors to work with her on campus as a lab tech. over her time in school shes even been in several journals for her study on eel grass in pudget sound, and for documenting several flowers that SHOULD NOT be this far north because its suppose to be too cold..but you know warming planet and all. She's already has recommendations sent to the bigger university shes going to transfer to for her doctorate program next year- of course once you start a doctorate program you also get payed a stipend

so.. there. shes post grad and already has a career shes passionate about and never took out a single loan, shes basically being payed to go to school.

so there is an example of when and where a career is totally realistic and obtainable and can be fulfilling. and sciences is one of those fields that will never go away. and with her PHD in hand shes in major control of her path..... I have my career in art, im my own boss, sure i may freelance with a comic company or novelist something, but that was still totally in my power, and i have a ton of control over how things are done. a career does not nor has ever solely meant being middle management in a corporate office in a little cubicle doing mindless busy work.

as the definition says " an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress" ergo ANYTHING can be a career if you spend most of your time and expertise at it, and ability to grow...even sex work can be considered one.

[lynn2009]

so.. there.

Obviously if it worked out for one person it's the right option for everyone.

[xxxGothBarbie]

Obviously if it worked out for one person it's the right option for everyone.

LMAO *eyeroll* IKR?! Some ppl on this forum baffle me.

[Ifyouseekamy]

I phrased that question really ignorantly.

Are careers a guarantee to financial peace like they use to be and what’s the future of the employee-employer relationship?

I know a lot of people with degrees and careers that still struggle financially and aren’t happy, but maybe that’s just my negativity bias and personal issues.

I guess managing money is the key to financial peace more than the actual job itself.

[Morrigan]

lol i wasnt meaning it works out for everyone.. my wording must have been off , i didnt use " so there" as a way to put my foot down on a idea, more me stating a passage of time more like " so with all that said and done" mind you i grew up speaking gaelic not english so i sometimes revert back to different turn of phrases, so i apologize for the confusion.. ultimately I was really trying to get to the point that a career is what one makes it, it's not a black and white term as much as most of us sorta grew seeing it as.

[Zofia]

My work history is varied. In high school and right before college, I worked in restaurants. Totally not my calling. In college, I stripped and made enough money to pay for college and living expenses along with some savings. Stripping done right can be very rewarding. After college, I took a job with a big utility company who paid (over paid in my estimation) for my MBA and gave me great benefits while I was pregnant. I left them to work for a VC fund on the management side. Along the way, I flipped some houses. That was profitable, until it wasn't. From there, I bought my company. I've been doing that for a while. I like owning and managing my own business. But, I'm only 38, so who knows what the future holds.

If I have any "career advice" it's do something that is financially rewarding and you are good at. Let the fun stuff be your hobbies.

Z

[xxxGothBarbie]

I'm so glad I have finally learned to look at jobs & "careers" like this~ work smarter NOT harder.

[babb]

No vanilla career work is not "better" in the long run

I mean it depends on your goals.

If you want the biweekly set amount paycheck, the benefits n shit, to use your degree, then go for it. Technically you can get your own health insurance so you don't necessarily need an employer for that unless you have some high risk medical issues.

Plenty of people have degrees they don't use or go into different areas they just got it cause their parent told them to or to use as a backup if all else fails.

An employer can fire you or lay you off whenever and so really it is not as secure as one may think.

The better thing to do is to have more than one stream of income at all times (whether it is from a job, a self-employment gig, a business, etc) AND to make your money work for you by investing wisely.

This is true wealth. Anything else, you are living on borrowed time, making someone else rich. All "jobs" are insecure unless you have assets that actively make you money.

[babb]

I've never liked the idea of being a career woman personally so my opinion here may be frowned upon at but I don't care.
I think nowadays careers are a waste of time. If you can work from home, not only is it less stressful but you are your own boss! Not having to deal with people only a daily basis just added an extra 10-15 years onto my life I feel like. Besides , it seems as though everytime i turn around I'm always hearing how these young ppl 18-28 are taking the career type jobs away from older ppl simply bc they will work harder for far less $$$. I refuse to do that.

I never went to college & I don't ever plan on going. It's nothing but a waste of time IMO. Why go for ALL those years wasting your life & owing massive amounts of loans when you don't have to.

I think the whole "career thing" is a thing of the past actually. Thanks to technology & the ability to work from home doing a myriad of things.

I agree. Be your own boss and make your money work for you by investing in assets that make you money.

[babb]

Are careers a guarantee to financial peace like they use to be and what’s the future of the employee-employer relationship?

I know a lot of people with degrees and careers that still struggle financially and aren’t happy, but maybe that’s just my negativity bias and personal issues.

I guess managing money is the key to financial peace more than the actual job itself.

Careers have never been secure. Working for someone else without having passive income will never give anyone e financial security.

[Ifyouseekamy]

I went to support group about a week ago. The group leader said the number one reason women stay in abusive relationships is because of money- the lack of it.

Im wondering if my history financial abuse is holding me back. I’m hoping a career would save me from having to face that again, but if it’s not something I love than I’m just going to end up miserable and depressed.

There’s this group called under earners- it’s a 12 step program for money. It’s really neat, but I haven’t had the chance to commit to it. I’ll let you guys know if it worth looking into.