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Thread: Stripping vs. College

  1. #1
    God/dess Sophia_Starina's Avatar
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    Stripping vs. College

    Ugh, these past few weeks I've been feeling like shit. While I was mired in my finals and research papers my co-workers were making oodles of cash. This got me to thinking... is college really worth it? Am I really putting effort where it will most pay off? I really don't know....

    I feel as though I should be spending more time in the club, perfecting my routines, my lapdances. I should be there more so that I can build up a base of regulars. I should be splashing my face around the internet to bring more people in to see me specifically rather than keeping everything a secret. I feel that even though I get great grades at school, as a dancer I'd most likely get a grade of C+ and all that because I'm so distracted by this brass ring called "a degree".

    Granted, it is my senior year and I intend to complete my commitment to get an undergrad degree. But now I'm starting to question my original plan about graduate school. Does it make more sense to focus on dancing during my youth and then go to school when dancing isn't as profitable (after several years on the job) or will I have time left to make some cash after two years of grad school? Is college all it's cracked up to be?

    Whats "better" for life (from your experience) dancing or degrees?
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  2. #2
    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    I don't think college is over-rated, but I think the opportunities with a college degree are.

    I'm glad I went and graduated, but at the end of the day, dancing makes me happier than sitting in front of a computer all day (well, because I have to, not because I'm on here!)

    Many people go to grad school later in life. I figure I have 40 years to work, total. Why do the same career path that whole time? Boring!

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    God/dess Bella21's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    College is absolutely worth it! I haven't quite finished my degree (I'm a senior as well), but I can't wait for those bragging rights! Stripping is great money... But I need something else in my life.
    If you think school is hard, try being stupid.

  4. #4
    God/dess PookaShell's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    I think college is definitely worth it. Dancing is great money, but it's unpredictable. And unpredictable jobs always need a fallback. If you wanna keep dancing after you get your degree, that's fine, too. Alot of girls at my club have graduated college. But if you were to be injured, get pregnant, or anything random that could interrupt your ability to work - you'd have qualifications that would get you a secure and somewhat well paying, even if not as much as dancing, job. As for graduate school - if you dont wanna get burnt out on school, then take a few years off, work your ass off, save money until it hurts, and then go back. I think you'd regret it if you din't.

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    Senior Member mermaid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    Omg, girl, are you serious??
    College is the key to your future. Stripping is not a lifelong career, what will you do when you're too old to strip, or your body just can't take it anymore?
    There is no retirement or insurance in stripping.
    You can finish college and STILL strip, but if you have the chance to have a back up plan or something to rely on after the fun ends with the clubs, then you better grab it!
    Look at pro sports players, they have a short career in sport- doing what they love, but they have degrees or certificates for when the ball games are over and they still have to make money (not all of them are millionares.)
    I danced for 10 years and now that I can't do it anymore, I have to fight and struggle to make money because I don't have any other training. I can't get sick or hurt because I have no insurance (and can't get the stripping related damage treated as well) because I don't have a job that provides health care.
    Is that what you want??
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  6. #6
    Featured Member MadisonM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    If I were you, I would finish all your schooling right away, while you're still making good money dancing. If you would get hurt and have to get a different job and decide to go to grad school then, would the new job you get give you the same money and flexible hours as what you have right now? You can always keep dancing after you graduate, but I would finish all my schooling right away, so it's done and over with and I don't have to worry about it anymore.

    If you're getting burnt out on school, maybe just start going part-time, or take a semester off to give your brain a break. Like what was mentioned before, dancing isn't permanent, and you need something to fall back on. One wrong step and you'll be out with a broken ankle. One car accident and you could be out with injuries- either permanent or temporary. You should do your schooling while you're dancing and have the money and flexible scheduling.
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    God/dess Lena's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    I went to college and I'm still a stripper. I aspire to never work in the field I got my degree in, and most especially to never have a job. If I were you I'd put grad school on the back burner until you're ready to stop dancing, then you'll have a fresh degree when you hit the job market, if that's what you really want.



  8. #8
    God/dess Andygirl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    I hope you aren't actually considering abandoning your educational goals to "perfect" your stripping techniques. This job is a means to an end, when you are 40 you are going to be a lot happier if you have that graduate degree (I could use my own advice,).

    Plus, why can't you do both? I graduated from college while dancing, and I plan to go back once I figure out what it is I want to do. A degree may not seem like much, but once you have it it is something they can never take away from you. And it is a huge accomplishment. I don't know that I can say I feel the same way about my stripping career.

    Maybe you could just take a break from school? You can finish your undergrad, take a year off, and then hit the books again. That would give you time to save and time to de-stress.
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  9. #9
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    I'll offer an alternate opinion ... with a clear and immediate caveat that this can only be successfully done by girls who have absolute motivation to 'work' hard and maintain financial 'discipline'.

    It is an inescapable fact that, for the vast majority of dancers, their 'peak earning years' occur between age 18 and 25 or so. By age 30, even if the spirit is willing the body simply can't sustain the same pace. For girls who have absolute dedication, it is possible to approach dancing in the same way as professional athletes approach their careers ... get in, 'work' your ass off, make a ton of money for a few years, smartly save and invest that money, and THEN move onto another career.

    From that standpoint, it is still possible for a totally dedicated full time dancer to work for say 7 years, to live relatively cheaply and save/invest her earnings, such that at the end of that 7 years she'll have $1,000,000 accumulated in passive investments. At that point, with her passive investments then providing say $35-40,000 a year minimum in passive income for the rest of her life, she can afford to quit dancing, pursue a college degree, and establish a new career ! Also, as a college student in her late 20's, with some amount of 'financial independence', she can choose a major which is more in line with her personal preferences rather than with 'marketability' in whatever economy exists 7 years from now.

    The obvious risks to this approach are that any serious 'lapse' in work ethic or financial discipline could leave the dancer being in her late 20's with no investment portfolio and no college degree either ! However, if the work ethic and financial discipline can be maintained, that 'nest egg' that will result from 7 years worth of dancing your ass off will go a long way towards providing 'choices' in later life.

    PS I successfully did this starting at age 30 not age 20 - although earnings potential was greater then than it is today in most locations ! I have a college degree, but really don't need any additional income beyond what my passive investments provide so for all practical purposes I'm now retired !

    PPS with all the ridiculous Christmas bonuses now being paid out to Manhattan bankers, brokers, lawyers etc. I think that I may have to come 'out of retirement' next week only to try and 'soak up' some of this mad money ! I wouldn't be free to do this if I was working at a full time 'straight' job of course.
    ~
    Last edited by Melonie; 12-25-2006 at 09:10 AM.

  10. #10

    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    Pooka is right, dancing is an extremely unpredictable business. Just listen to many of the girls on here who have been in the business for 5, 10 or more years...the money today is nowhere near where it was a decade ago. Who knows what kind of money you'll be making in another few years? There may be an improbement, but the industry could also take a nosedive. In addition, as a physical job, you also face the possibility of getting injured and not being able to continue. A bad fall on stage or a car accident could be the end of your dancing career...and with no backup plan what would you do then?

    Finish your degree, keep dancing, then you'll have options. As the other girls have mentioned, there is no law that you need to jump into the job market as soon as you finish college! Plus, dancing part-time even after you graduate could give you the opportunity to take an entry-level position in your desired field without struggling for money like a lot of entry-level people do. It will also give you a cushion so you can go back to grad school without taking on a ton of debt...that's what I'm doing, and am planning on graduating with a PhD and zero debt! You can't beat that.

    Options are NEVER a bad thing! Hang in there, girl, you can make it!
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  11. #11
    Featured Member francescadubois's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    You also have to consider the steady decline of the business. With the economy being so sensitive to exogenous shocks the way it is as well as the pop culture fascination with strippers (equals more and more 18 and 19 year olds pouring in), the industry is getting very competitive in some unconventional ways which you may not necessarily compete. Just a thought.
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  12. #12
    BrunetteGoddess
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    I think this is another example of why it was good for me to stay in retirement. If I didn't, I would have probably sunk into the "Stripping is great FOREVAR!" mentality, and I don't want to be a stripper as an occupation anymore. When I was a newb, I thought I'd do it forever, LOL.

  13. #13
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    Default Re: Stripping vs. College

    I feel like you (the OP) sometimes. Then again, sometimes I hate dancing so much I just know I couldn't do it full scale, all the time. Maybe it's me, maybe it's the contact dancing (though I've airdanced, and that's no better for my psyche I find, so probably me). And I know my degree (Philosophy, English minor...HA!) is pretty flimsy. I don't know what I'll do next year when I'm done. Sometimes people get frustrated when I tell them the truth: that I am just not that ambitious, that I don't want to be super rich, and that I'm not smart enough for grad school either. Realism and pessimism are the same thing sometimes. I have no clue where I'll be (in any sense of the word) in five years, or even two years. No idea. And that seems to bother other people ('tis the turkey-gossip season) way more than it does me.

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