About five years ago, one of my husband's friends was in a similar bind, and did something pornographic for the money. The other day, I was googling a perfectly innocent internet catchphrase to find out its origins, and I stumbled upon a very explicit nude picture of her. I wasn't googling for her, I wasn't googling for porn, but now I know what she looks like naked.

If you make a video that people get off on, you have to assume that it will be distributed on the internet, whether or not this is the original intention. This means that everyone can find it. Your parents. Your children. Your boss. Your high-school principal. Your high-school bully. Your next-door neighbour. That guy who asked you out and you turned him down. Are you okay with all these people seeing the video? Is it still worth the money to you?

I too, have a masters degree in an unemployable field (Creative Writing anyone?)and while I know that I will never get a job writing poetry, I value that degree because it helped me to become the writer that I am today.

I had hoped, when I started my degree that I would be SO special, SO fantastic that I would magically find myself in a nice, secure academic position in a swanky city right after graduation. Guess what. Those positions don't exist. Other letter writers are correct when they state that there are a LOT of PHD's out there, all of whom would love nothing better than to land a nice job teaching comparative literature, or philosophy, or history, or poetry. The fact of the matter is, academia is not a field that pays much to anyone who isn't at the top of their field. I work in higher education now, and I got my job in a large part because of experiences I gained in grad-school (teaching, editing, volunteering). I did NOT get my job because of my degree, my job has little to do with the content of my degree, and the people I went to school with who didn't do legwork outside of class have no hope of teaching until they get some experience, and they'll have to start by volunteering.

Here's what I can tell you about higher education. Most universities don't hire full-time faculty, they hire adjuncts. Adjuncts are freelance instructors who are brought on to teach classes each semester. Most universities pay a few thousand dollars a class. If you carried a full time load at one or more universities, you might earn half of what you earn now. You won't have any job security, health benifits, or leisure time. Many of the professors where I work also have full-time jobs selling coffee, temping, or working in some other field. I take teaching jobs as a way to earn pocket money. You might still end up contemplating sex-work as a way to make ends meet, I know I have.

If you want to teach college level courses, here's what you'll have to do:

1)Get teaching experience. You can start by volunteering and work up. Try to work with adult students at places like hospitals, community centers, libraries, etc. This teaching doesn't have to be in your field, though you should be steering towards it.

2) Be active in your field. Subscribe to journals, join professional associations, volunteer for places that do what you do, go to conferences, write, get published, etc.

These are good ways to make connections, get references, gain experience, etc. I'm not saying that a PHD won't serve you, it will; it will allow you to concentrate on your work and refine your talents, and it will help you advance in your field. It won't open any doors. If you're married to the idea of getting your PHD sooner rather than later, get a job at a university. Most full-time employees recieve scholarship benefits, even the ones who empty the trash and serve coffee.

What this biols down to is that you should get a PHD because you are passionate about the field and want to devote yourself to it, regardless of how it might (or might not) pay off. You should not get a PHD because you wish to pursue a lifestyle that exists for only a handful of people. I'm in my early 30's and have a ten year plan for my career; if you want to be successful in an academic field you'll have to be aware that you might be 50 years old before you have the credentials you need to land that dream job. Be ok with that and concentrate on getting there.

As for the sex work, if you want to do it, do it. If you don't feel comfortable with it, don't. Imagine talking to your future partners or collegues about that part of your life. Some people are comfortable with that, others, not so much. Decide which kind you are and move forward accordingly.

I'm 4 years into a PhD in E.E. and if the worst indignity you face over the course of your program is posing semi-nude with some mackerels tucked into your armpits while a blind dog licks your toes so that sweaty fat internet men can pleasure themselves you're doing pretty well.

JG

And good luck with your career

Assuming the fetish in question is legal, the rest is up to the LW's own morality. However, if she goes ahead with it, she might want to consider wearing a mask and even a wig to disguise herself. No teacher wants to explain to the schoolboard why her students begin sharing YouTube videos of her wearing chicken feathers and roller skates and whipping some guy's ass.

You discuss that there's bad job conditions everywhere, and that we should also expect them in academia.

No place is going to be perfect. However, after spending years and loan $ to get a PhD, one should be able to earn a salary that makes it possible to pay off the loans. I was accepted into 3 top ten schools for my field, I'm not quite finished, and have over 100K in debt. The pay for someone in the sciences is almost twice as that of those in the arts/humanities. If you have a TA in science, it IS enough to scrape by. In the humanities, I had full funding for 3 years, started working 2 jobs after that, and I'm still over 100K in debt. Others I've talked to who went to other institutions are in the same boat (I was lucky enough to have in-state tuition after my funding ran out). I was also the only one in my class who began with full funding.

Here's a few ideas for the LW:

Interview at places you're interested in and find out their job placement rate upon completion of the Phd. My dept has had a 99% placement rate for about 40 years. The people who finish and don't get full-time jobs are those that choose to switch industries. (High-tech, publishing, etc.)

You could also teach full time in a public school without a credential, and start your master's. Everyone's telling the LW to teach in the K-12 system, but the subjects taught at college aren't the same ones available in K-12. This works especially well if you go to a school where the highest degree they have is the master's, as they have more funding for thesis work that wouldn't be available at a Phd granting institution. They often will arrange classes around a public school teacher's schedule as well. Then you would have a job, know if you like what you're studying enough to continue with the Phd, etc. (However, it does take a little bit longer--but I only amassed 10K/debt for the master's...)

While I'm frustrated by my financial situation, I can't imagine myself in another field. I like that I can aspire to be one of the best at what I do and I enjoy working with college-age students.