naked avatar poll

doctorj wrote: ...escorting. Or sex work. Or modelling. I just wonder what people who figure at age 20 they can do that and rake it in without further education do once they get to their 40s and 50s.

At the risk of your question being rhetorical I'd say that, in the situations where it applies it depends on how much money and fame they may have obtained. I would assume that if they blew their cash--or to begin with didn't make enough to retire on--and did not become famous they'll just find some regular job like the vast majority of people out there. Also, if they are not working consistently in those fields their run may be over by their mid-20s, giving them ample time to pursue some different kind of career path. There's also the possibility of staying in their particular business but in a different capacity (owner, booker, gopher, etc). But that seems to be the case in every field where people gain certain notoriety: athletes become announcers/commentators; past porn stars host radio/internet sex shows and/or become filmmakers; musicians build recording studios and produce albums or manage other artists etc etc etc. Of course, there's also the great washed-up masses that find themselves greeting at Wal-Mart. Or worse.

I used to frequent an GV restaurant back in the early '90s that had a stunningly gorgeous 40-something hostess who I became friendly with. It turns out she had modelled in her youth--big surprise--but never became rich or famous, hence...

Thanks for reminding me of her.

MichaelKeys wrote: [quote=doctorj]...escorting. Or sex work. Or modelling. I just wonder what people who figure at age 20 they can do that and rake it in without further education do once they get to their 40s and 50s.

At the risk of your question being rhetorical I'd say that, in the situations where it applies it depends on how much money and fame they may have obtained. I would assume that if they blew their cash--or to begin with didn't make enough to retire on--and did not become famous they'll just find some regular job like the vast majority of people out there. Also, if they are not working consistently in those fields their run may be over by their mid-20s, giving them ample time to pursue some different kind of career path.

I briefly dated a girl many years ago who was working her way through college as a stripper. Or at least she started doing it to pay for college after her parents cut off support when she came out, but when she graduated with a degree in early childhood education she kept stripping. She didn't really like doing it, and there were some really ugly, painful moments for her (like when someone recognized her, sneaked some photos of her onstage, and sent them to her family, or the time one of her high school teachers came in), but she'd gotten used to making a buttload of money and kept saying she wanted to just do it a few more months to get some money saved up.

A year or so later we were long over and I wasn't in touch with her, but I heard through mutual friends that she was still having a hard time getting used to the idea of dropping to about half or a third of her annual income. Last I heard she was dancing at a really skanky, creepy place (she started out at one that was fairly upscale, as far as Kansas strip joints go). Given how much I know she disliked doing it, I hope she was able to get out of it eventually and that it hasn't come back to haunt her.