What to consider before starting a career as an escort

Are you prepared for this line of work?

Entering into the sex industry and a career as an escort is not a decision to be taken lightly. Working as an escort is different from your standard 9-5 desk job, and there are many considerations to be made before choosing to go down this path. Like most things in life, escorting comes with its very intense highs and lows – it’s just a question of whether you are prepared to take them on.

Escorts may suffer scrutiny from the public, from family or friends due to the unjust, often misogynistic society we happen to live in. On the plus side, however, the profession comes with the potential to make a lot of money and experience one-of-a-kind opportunities that may never have happened otherwise.

Labeled and boxed

What are some aspects of the job?

Sex work

First and foremost, as an escort, you will be required or expected to have sex with your clients. Escort agencies belong to the sex trade, and therefore, as an escort, you will be classed as a sex worker. In the most basic terms, your agency will receive interest from a client, contact you to meet with the client, you will receive payment upfront and may or may not be required to have sex. Though engaging in sexual acts may not be requested by every client, if you’re thinking of going into this industry, it is crucial that you feel comfortable having sex as part of your job.

Clients

Every client is different, and you need to be prepared to cater to a wide variety of them. Everyone has their fantasies, fetishes and preferences, which means you may be required to dress or act in a certain way to satisfy the client, which could even involve adapting aspects of your personality. Of course, you should only be asked to do what you feel is comfortable for you. Still, it is essential to establish this early on to not enter into situations that negatively affect you.

Intimacy

While some clients are only looking for sex, oftentimes, clients will hire beautiful escorts to satisfy a need for an intimate romantic relationship. This means kissing, cuddling, holding hands and going on dates. Just like the clients, escorts also have their preferences. However, both sides of escorting – the sex and the relationship aspect – will be things you are required to do at some point.

Making judgements

When meeting a client in a public place or hotel room, you will likely have a chance to scope them out just before the meeting, whether seeing them across a restaurant or looking through the peephole in your hotel room door. If you’re working with an agency, this client will have been screened, but ultimately, the final judgement is up to you. If when the client arrives, you get a bad feeling from them or you feel uncomfortable at any point, you need to trust your judgment and have the strength to take yourself out of the situation.

Organizing your time

Flexible hours are a factor that draws a lot of people into the escort business. However, if you’re escorting on the side of your day job, (which is recommended when starting out), there is a high possibility you will become overworked. It will help if you manage your time in a way that benefits both your career and your wellbeing.

Think about how you spend your time, what kind of social commitments you make and how important they are to you if you’re working another job, how many hours are in your contract? It is essential to take time for yourself so as not to reach the point of burnout.

Branding yourself

Branding is something you will need to consider to grow a clientele that suits you. How do you like to act on dates and in bed? What kind of clients would you like to attract? When you have a unique selling point, customers will prefer to come to you rather than the next generic escort.

An agency will take care of the marketing and advertising side of things, but having an idea of how you would like to brand yourself will help you master your specialisms, perfect your look and build a loyal clientele. Have a think – are you dominant? Submissive? Innocent? Kinky?

Pros and cons of escorting

Whether it’s for the opportunity to travel, to meet interesting people, for the money, or flexible hours, the reasoning behind your decision should be crystal clear in your mind. Which aspects of the job sound appealing to you, and which do you feel might be problematic?

If you have a distinct view of exactly what you will and won’t enjoy, you can weigh up the pros and cons to make a concise, informed decision based on what is most important to you and whether it is a dealbreaker or not.

The pros

Flexible working hours

As previously mentioned, escort work comes with the opportunity to pick your hours. If you establish your preferred work schedule with your agency, you will only be given clients that fit into your agreed-upon hours.

Working flexible hours can be a major plus for escorts who are just starting out and have a second job, as it allows them to work around their social life and other commitments. Of course, more hours mean more clients, which means more money, should you want to take on escorting full-time.

Potential to make a lot of money

One very appealing aspect of escorting is the potential for a very high income. Clients are willing to pay a lot of money for an escort service, whatever it may entail. If you’re comfortable with the more obscure preferences, such as satisfying client’s fetishes, you’re likely to be paid higher for your service.

When starting out, you won’t have such high demand for your services as you won’t be so well-known, but if you’re committed, fit for the role and good at what you do, your name will get out there, and your clientele will only increase.

Able to meet lots of people

In the escorting business, you will be meeting people from all walks of life—people with intricate personalities, interesting lives and specific needs and desires. Working a standard 9-5 job would never allow you to meet the sheer volume and range of people you would meet while escorting. Such a vast network of contacts can open all manner of doors for you, but no matter who you meet in the escorting business, there is no doubt it will lead to a unique life experience and interesting stories to tell.

Building relationships with co-workers and clients

Becoming a career escort comes with experiences that are exclusive to the job. The relationships you build with co-workers and other escorts are special. Being able to bond over shared highs and lows can not only create a long-lasting, cherished connection but positively impact your escorting career through advice and emotional support.

The bond you’ll feel with your fellow escorts is one you will hold onto forever – nobody will understand your experiences quite like your co-workers. In terms of client relationships, once you’re a well-established escort with a wide range of skills and experience, you will be able to charge higher rates and therefore attract wealthier clients. If you’ve built a strong, loyal client-escort relationship, such clients may be able to offer opportunities to further your career.

The cons

Potentially unsafe environment

Yes, agencies screen every client to ensure they’re not putting their employees in dangerous situations, but accidents do happen. Even after a thorough investigation, somebody shady may just slip through the cracks. Escorting does have the potential to be a very dangerous career.

An escort is likely to be safer when working under an agency. There will be a team of experienced individuals to ensure such danger doesn’t occur, which you would not have access to were you working independently and screening clients yourself. Though an agency will do the most they can to keep their escorts as safe as possible, as is life, there is no absolute guarantee that you won’t enter into a dangerous situation.

A legal grey area

In the UK, working as an escort is a legal practice, as is selling and paying for sex. Still, there are limitations that you must familiarize yourself with before going into the profession so as not to get into any legal trouble. It is vital that you know what you are within your legal right to do and what your agency and clients are within their legal right to do. If you’re clued-up on the legal side of things, you will be more equipped to identify any suspicious goings-on in the industry. You can read our article about escorts and the law here.

Lesser chance of loans

Due to the potentially unstable nature of escorting work and often cash payments, you may have difficulty applying for loans or opening new lines of credit. Like with many freelance or self-employed professions, a bank may not view your unconventional source of income as reliable, as you will be earning different amounts of money each month.

These financial implications are something you need to consider, particularly when becoming an escort full-time. With a steady part-time job on the side, you keep the credit stability that comes with it.

Social stigma

Though our world is changing to become more accommodating of the sex industry and sex workers, it is no surprise that the social stigma around sex work still exists. There is a chance you will face scrutiny from family, friends, employers, or even strangers.

Of course, this problem lies not with the sex industry itself but with the society that decided sex work was a thing to be ashamed of. That being said, it is still a factor to be considerate of. If you know your parent’s or friend’s opinion of you will be negatively affected by your new career choice, think about how much their approval means to you – is it a dealbreaker, or are you happy doing your own thing?

If you are a thick-skinned individual who will be able to take the hit of potential disapproval from those around you and, in turn, break down the stigma surrounding sex work, you will be a welcome fit for the escorting industry.

What it’s like to work for an agency

If you’ve decided escorting is a profession that suits you, the next step is to consider how you will find the work. For a first-time escort, signing with an agency is the smart decision as agencies take care of all the tricky behind-the-scenes stuff that you might not be familiar with if you don’t know the industry. These tasks include:

Screening clients through background checks and direct communications to ensure the safety of their escorts,
Taking care of business expenses such as travel, hotels, and photoshoots,
Marketing and advertising,
Connecting clients with escorts.

An agency wants you to be successful, so they will always do their best to take care of you and make your life easier. That way, you can perform to the best of your ability at work.

As previously mentioned, you will be surrounded by fellow escorts who have shared similar hardships to you. So if you’re feeling the pressure at an agency, you can guarantee a solid support network to pick you up and offer advice – something that would be harder to build if you were working independently.

Of course, when working under an agency, you will have to give up a cut of your earnings. Still, since the time-consuming administration aspect of the job is done for you, you have the time to focus all of your attention on satisfying clients and earning more money.

Escorting vs prostitution

Prostitution, as it’s generally understood, provokes a higher level of risk to its workers than escorting. While the two overlap in some areas, such as buying and selling sex, an escort agency is more law-abiding. Since many aspects surrounding prostitution are illegal in the UK, like brothels and buying or selling sex in public, escorting is a far safer option for people looking for a job in the sex industry.

Criminal practices attract criminal customers; therefore, the non-criminal nature of escorting attracts more non-criminals, so escorts are put in less danger. If you are looking to get into the sex industry, go the legal route. Not just for your freedom, but for your safety. Since what most escort agencies do is legal, it can be properly, openly regulated and, in turn, keeps everyone involved as safe as possible.

The legal side

The laws surrounding sex work in the UK are something your agency should go through with you when you start to work for them. As a disclaimer, this is not formal legal advice, but as it currently stands, it is illegal in the UK to:

Approach people in public to buy or sell sex
Run a brothel
Exploit a sex worker through deception, coercion, or threat
Advertise in phone boxes or on leaflets
Buy sexual services in Northern Ireland

Know your rights, and know your laws. This is an important part of keeping you safe at work.

To sum it all up, escorting is a difficult profession, and the decision to pursue it is not one to be taken lightly. Take some time to think carefully over the points mentioned in this article and how each of them may individually affect your life. Your lifestyle could change in many ways – are you happy with those changes? Those who can heavily commit to escorting are those who succeed, people with strong emotional resilience and willpower.

Escorting could be a great fit for you. Do you have what it takes?

Sources

Wikipedia