A woman has opened up about leaving her top accountancy job to escort and the money she's made since.
Katija Cortez left her job at one of the 'big four accounting firms in Sydney, Australia' and has ended up making 'five figures a week' for the past year from diving into the world of OnlyFans and escorting - the 28-year-old since opening up to UNILAD about making the leap.
Prepare to start questioning your day job.
Accountancy job
After getting a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction, Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accountancy, and two University awards, Katija went to work at a big accountancy firm and 'was promised lots of things in return for working harder than everybody else'.
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However, despite three years in the company working 'like a dog', she 'was still getting the exact same as those who did the bare minimum' and something 'broke' inside of her.
When the second lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic hit, Katija decided to make a change, quitting her job and pursuing her passion of writing but when she was rejected multiple times, she looked to OnlyFans to support herself 'determined not to go back to accounting'.
Introduction to escorting
After entering the world of OnlyFans, one of her friends introduced her to escorting and Katija has raked in the rewards ever since - she even said she'd 'cry' if she hadn't 'always made five figures a week' for the past year.
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However, this doesn't mean the escorting industry has always been easy, with Katija also noting how 'volatile' it is.
"There are so many factors that contribute to whether a week or month is more profitable than another - e.g. school holidays, how many girls you’re competing with in whichever city you’re in, sporting events, public holidays etc. Sometimes you can't predict it at all."
And she certainly wasn't earning 'at such a consistently high level' when she first started.
Money
Katija explains it's only 'over time' when you acquire 'regular clients' you start raking the money in, revealing in one booking she ended up making 'around $75,000 (AUD) ($50,000 USD)'.
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"It started as a six-hour booking, and then he just kept extending and extending until a week had gone past," she explains.
However, Katija adds 'half of that' was taken from her as a result of the rate set by the escort agency she was with at the time - so, after fourth months with them, she decided to go out on her own.
Key to success in the industry
Katija highlights that big bookings so early on in her career proves you 'don’t necessarily need to be having your face out, have won awards or done magazine covers to be successful' explaining that she didn't even have her social media up and running at that time.
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She says: "A lot of the time it’s right place, right time. A lot of the time it’s luck. A lot of the time it’s being personable and likeable.
"A lot of the time it’s simple things like just being on time and responding in a timely manner. A lot of the time it’s connection."
And Katija warns simply joining the escorting industry 'does not guarantee your success like a lot of people think'.
Word of warning
"My success is ultimately based on the experience and fantasy that I provide. Just because someone wants to be an actress, doesn’t mean the next day they’re going to be Angelina Jolie." Katija said. "Just because someone wants to be a singer, doesn’t mean that the next day they will replace Taylor Swift. This industry is no different."
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She stresses the job is 'far from easy' - 'lucrative, competitive and a lot of the time things are out of your control' - reflecting the 'ones who succeed are often the ones working 24/7 and who thrive in stress and chaos'.
"That’s definitely one thing that my former role prepared me very well for," she notes.
However, her escorting career has ultimately proven more steady a-job to if she remained at her accountancy firm - with the prospect of being a partner taking '10+ years of working like an absolute dog on very minimal pay'.
The pitfalls of accountancy
She reflects: "Making partner and the partner salary is the carrot they dangle in order to get staff to endure this process. But then it doesn’t stop there.
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"Even partners have levels and ranks between themselves. So a new partner will not be making as much as a senior partner, and a senior partner won’t be making as much as the even more senior partner. [..] It’s just this never ending cycle of carrot dangling to entice you to slave away for the firm. And it is highly effective."
"When I was working at my old firm some of us for a laugh would divide the amount of hours we actually worked by the amount of money we were getting paid (because the two are not synonymous when on a salary at a big firm) and when you workout the amount you’re actually paid per hour it is WAY below minimum wage"
However, Katija doesn't deny her current job as an escort comes with certain stereotypes and is met with certain disproving societal views compared to being an employee at an accountancy firm.
Accounting vs. escorting
However, Katija - who also hosts a podcast called The Kat and Mark Show - explains she finds it 'hilarious' how her 'prior career is seen as a respectable job'.
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Why? Well, because she was 'selling [her] brain for a couple of bucks an hour'.
She questions: "Whereas selling a different part of my body for a thousand dollars an hour is apparently degrading? How does that math work?"
She resolves: "We are all selling one part of our body one way or another, whether it be our brains, our hands, our eyes, or our coochies. I am not sure why genitalia is seen as so much more of a precious commodity than one’s brain. Why is that sacred but my brain isn’t?
"I invested way more time, money and effort into my brain - learning skills, mastering the craft of accounting, gaining knowledge through many years of school, university and extra-currcular activities… All for a few dollars an hour?
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"That feels more degrading to me than sex work ever will."
Topics: Money, Sex and Relationships, US News, Australia, Mental Health
Poppy Bilderbeck