Good question...
I've done nude for art classes at various colleges and universities--it's Zen, meditative...requires a LOT of focus though. Pays ok, several dollars above the minimum wage for my state.
I've done fetish and implied nude modeling. The pay was decent, but the photographers and makeup artists were flaky, and some of the photographers were creepy. I loved it, because I'm sort of a performer, but it was just weird and such a competitive harsh world. Not for me.
I go-go danced at a gay bar, which paid great
I got paid measly $30 by the bar, but the tips were so worth it. Plus free drinks, great aerobic workout, and glow toys!
I've stripped at a no-touch club and adored it. I made a great living and payed off my student loans and did wonderful things with the money. I loved it until they decided to go touch
.
Switched clubs to a bigger one with a better reputation, made lotsa cash that way. I did amateur nights--that's usually $500 to the first place girl, for a couple hours of standing around and a few minutes of a song!
Stripping at the touch club sucked. The money was great but the managers were evil, the customers were either lovely or pure scum, and the hours sucked. I woke up so late, so sore. My body won't be the same and I stripped only part time for under two years.
You'll likely get a "high" from any sex work. The power and money and praise are such a huge-ass rush. You might never believe the honeymoon period will be over, but in 95% of cases (scientific, huh?), the woman's psyche was somehow damaged. My heart goes out to a lot of the beautiful, lovely, brilliant women (mothers, business women, wives, former addicts, current addicts....) who feel they have no choice.
That's the crux of the situation. If one does sex work out of desperation, it can become incredibly stressful, competitive, and make you generally feel cruddy.
That's just my experience, and the experiences I have heard from friends and co-workers. You need a tough skin. The most BEAUTIFUL, TONED, GORGEOUS playmate-type women get called fat and ugly.
That's how it is.
My self-esteem was great until the stripping. It was good for awhile, but then every flaw was pointed out.
I do miss the stage. The stage was my home. I chose the lights, the music, strobes, outfits, everything. I did yoga on the damn stage. The money rocked, and the performing, but the private rooms/the hard hustle to get dances/the groping sucked. Eventually I had to quit, because I had to choke someone out because he got really aggressive in VIP. At least the bouncers treated him to some nice rough love
That's my story! Sorry for the novel! Getting into web camming now. I won't be touched that way, and I can leave any time I want if I don't like it. I won't be financially rich perhaps, but my psyche won't be robbed blind. Hopefully.
I'd totally do the semi-nude housework! I'm going to do nude housework for my webcam actually. Get paid to clean my house...yes, please.
I've done so much sex work. It helps a LOT when you are student because of the schedules, the pay, etc. I got my books paid for once for a semester! Guys can be great: my dog needed surgery and I got a huge amount to cover it. I'm glad I did everything I did--no regrets. I miss stripping EVERY DAY. I miss it badly. I worked three nights a week, tops. Currently I write and blog, just need to work soon because my savings are running out (quit in August). So camming is next til my partner gets the new gig he's after....
There's huge pros and cons to this industry, much more so than most others, I feel. Trying it out couldn't hurt---just don't get swept away, please. It is a seductive world.
For you, you could strip in a different city. They often offer really good deals for food and hotels for the weekend, or Thursday-Saturday, and can be flexible. You can also put on a wig and a new persona and maybe a spray tan, etc, glasses....it's dark and you wouldn't likely be recognized. I have been recogized once only, and I danced in my town. It wasn't a big deal. He got weird but he was banned for life
They scan every guy's ID and blacklist them if they are trouble.
You could definitely do like a masquerade mask if you want to do a dramatic BDSM persona on webcam! And a wig....Plus, if the dude is paying $5/min to see a girl on a cam, and they recognize the girl, they are the culprit, you know? They can't go say, "I saw Jane on Cams.com! She was doing really dirty things!" Because then he looks like a creeper
And weight...pfff....some of the top girls I worked with (and LOVED hustling with because they rocked at it and we worked well together) were nowhere near slender. Or even toned. I worked with a lady who was about 5'4" (without those shoes!) and easily 200, easily! She did well because my club was full of skinny little things, or big fakey boob types. I believe webcam is the same. BBW is a huge market (pun was bad, oops).
Oh and with camming you can block out regions. So if you live in Topeka and went to college in Ann Arbor, block 'em! You can block out COUNTRIES, even.
Let us know if you do anything
Or if you don't! ALL sex work can be hard on the soul, the libido, sometimes the body (stripping), relationships, self-esteem and so many things. So try it, but think HARD, please.
Sorry to be so opinionated. I just have strong, strong feelings about the industry. Mixed ones that drive me bonkers sometimes.
Good luck. Being unemployed is rough.