Am I being unrealistic?

[HoneyLane_]

Wall of text incoming- sorry!

As I've probably mentioned in every single one of my posts so I don't just seem like an ignorant dummy, I'm new to camming. I've only been at it for a little less than two weeks. Even so, I already know I love it! It's great to be able to express my sensuality, but also just to come into contact with so many different people.

So here's the thing:

I'm currently on a mental health leave due to my depression. I've been on it for a couple months now (which is how I managed to stumble upon camming and sit around and research so much) and I'm supposed to go back at the end of May if the doctor sees I'm fit to. I've been feeling a lot better with time, medication and therapy, so I think I'll get cleared. My big problem is that I really don't want to go back to the job I'm on leave from. I pretty much decided a month back that I wouldn't be returning there when I do get back to working. To much drama there and things that sort of led me to the downward spiral.

I've come to debating the idea and trying to work to having camming as my main job. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I calculated everything and I'd only need 1200 tokens 5 days a week to live really comfortably (it comes to even more than I was already making, and I had no money troubles whatsoever and lots left over each cheque), and 700 at the minimum (it comes out to about the same as my employment insurance cheques for my leave, which I've been living on just fine- no struggle). It doesn't sound like such a gigantic leap. For just starting out, I've earned more money than I even expected to as someone with no experience so it's fuelling my hope.

I've been dedicating the month of May to REALLY working hard at this, learning everything I can, setting up goals and getting my feet firmly planted. I figured if it all goes well by the end, that I'll give it a shot as my only source of income.

I just want to know from you experienced gals if I'm being insane. Is this really unrealistic? I know camming has a steep learning curve and it's definitely not just an easy breezy job, but I really love it and would like to have the wiggle room in my schedule to go back to school with a few courses.

What do you think? You don't have to sugar coat it- I want your honesty.

 

[CharlotteLace]

I think it's a really good starting point that you've been researching and planning it all out. If you can put in the time and effort, yes, you can make camming a full-time job. It can be stressful, because it's not consistent income, but if you figure out ways to cover slow days, yeah you can make a livable wage.

Keep in mind, though- the money you're bringing in isn't all yours. You need to be setting aside a percentage for taxes. So maybe try and shoot for more than "bare minimum" so you have wiggle room for the IRS.

I think if you keep up all this research, maybe scour the forum so you have a really solid contingency plan, you can do it! :-D Good luck!

 

[Gen]

Generally speaking I don't think that's unrealistic. The only thing is that depression can make camming really, really hard because you have to self-motivate so much.

If I were you, I'd sign up on multiple sites (if you haven't already) so you have a few income options and can focus on different sites if you're not up to camming. Personally I think it's smart just to have accounts set up on a few sites just in case of tech issues on your main site or if things are slow - that way if you decide you want to try another site, your account is already ready to go and you can get money faster.

But I think you can do it! You seem motivated and your goals are realistic, and you're researching which is awesome. I hope it works out well!

 

[Fay_Galore]

If the job was making you unhappy (while you already were unhappy) I would definitely say don't go back there. Camming is ideal to do as a part-time job too, so you might want to (just in case) get a really low-profile easy no nonsense drama-free parttime job at a restaurant or shop? just to be on the safe side.

 

[IsabellaSnow]

From personal experience I'd say don't quit your day job. Camming can seem amazing and you can earn amazing money, but camming for a living can be very stressful and can really de-motivate you to cam. If you have depression this can get so much worse. Because you have no need to leave the house it can stop you socialising and interacting in real life and even stop you wanting to leave the house at all. It gives you less reason to get up in the morning as essentially all you have to do is stumble out of bed for a few hours and get on cam, eventually that can create a situation where you're spending so much time not doing much that you come up with more and more excuses not to get on cam. It's very easy to say "all I have to make is x amount 5 days a week", but you'll have to come on cam those 5 days a week consistently which can be a lot harder than it sounds.

The grass is always greener on the other side. Remember in your calculations to leave 20% of your earnings to put away for taxes.

If your current job is what's making you so unhappy and you really don't enjoy it then I'd put some effort into finding a part time job that you would enjoy more and cam on the side. Camming is a LOT more fun if you don't feel you need to cam.

I've been camming for over 2 and a half years now with no other job until recently and it definitely can be done but not without it's stresses. Income is so inconsistent that it's very hard to plan out your money. Camming is incredibly lucrative but it completely depends on you as a person and how good you are at self motivating. It also depends on how successful you are at camming. If you earn 1200+ tokens an hour and that's all you need each day then this sounds very realistic as if you needed to you'd probably be able to pull in a few bigger sessions to make up for any days off. If you earn more like 100-400 tokens an hour and need/want 1200 then you're going to need to work 3 to 12 hours daily and would absolutely need to stick to schedule as you wouldn't have time to make up for extra days off.

 

[JickyJuly]

A lot of us (most of us even?) rely on camming as our only income. As long as you can treat it like a job, it's not that scary. I'm not the best at being my own boss. I often take too much time off and end up in a whirlwind trying to make up for lost time. That's really the hardest part for me. If you manage your money well on the good weeks, it makes up for the bad ones.

 

[Starling]

Wall of text incoming- sorry!

As I've probably mentioned in every single one of my posts so I don't just seem like an ignorant dummy, I'm new to camming. I've only been at it for a little less than two weeks. Even so, I already know I love it! It's great to be able to express my sensuality, but also just to come into contact with so many different people.

So here's the thing:

I'm currently on a mental health leave due to my depression. I've been on it for a couple months now (which is how I managed to stumble upon camming and sit around and research so much) and I'm supposed to go back at the end of May if the doctor sees I'm fit to. I've been feeling a lot better with time, medication and therapy, so I think I'll get cleared. My big problem is that I really don't want to go back to the job I'm on leave from. I pretty much decided a month back that I wouldn't be returning there when I do get back to working. To much drama there and things that sort of led me to the downward spiral.

I've come to debating the idea and trying to work to having camming as my main job. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I calculated everything and I'd only need 1200 tokens 5 days a week to live really comfortably (it comes to even more than I was already making, and I had no money troubles whatsoever and lots left over each cheque), and 700 at the minimum (it comes out to about the same as my employment insurance cheques for my leave, which I've been living on just fine- no struggle). It doesn't sound like such a gigantic leap. For just starting out, I've earned more money than I even expected to as someone with no experience so it's fuelling my hope.

I've been dedicating the month of May to REALLY working hard at this, learning everything I can, setting up goals and getting my feet firmly planted. I figured if it all goes well by the end, that I'll give it a shot as my only source of income.

I just want to know from you experienced gals if I'm being insane. Is this really unrealistic? I know camming has a steep learning curve and it's definitely not just an easy breezy job, but I really love it and would like to have the wiggle room in my schedule to go back to school with a few courses.

What do you think? You don't have to sugar coat it- I want your honesty.

Hi there! Girl with depression and anxiety who quit her job to do this full time for the very same reasons, reporting in!

I quit my part time job to pursue camming full time after only doing it for a little over 2 months. It definitely worked out fine for me, and I think it's totally realistic to plan for it, especially if you'd be making as much or more than you would at your vanilla job.

HOWEVER, I think the MAIN deciding factor is how your first month or two goes. It was a very easy transition for me because I got very lucky by picking up some regs my very first night and a couple whales a few weeks later. Most girls on the site do not have this experience, and end up with a camscore below 1000, struggling to make 1200 tokens a night, if that. So, between now and when your leave expires, work on strengthening your fanbase and your brand as much as possible. Put together a good profile, think of some creative games and/or aspects of your room that are totally unique to you, and really try to bolster your camscore. It's not everything, but it does make a significant difference in how easily you'll be able to achieve those 1200 tokens a night. You also have to factor in off nights. 1200 a night might sound easy peasy, but I've got a 4500-4700 camscore and sometimes I go 3 days in a row only making 800-1000 tokens a night. Also, as the other girls mentioned, you must set aside ~20% for taxes.

As far as the depression goes, doing this full time is a double edged sword. If I'm having a really bad day and am dealing with crazy anxiety, my guys are really wonderful and understanding and I can just take the night off to recover. You can't really do that anywhere else without any repercussions. But, as the others have said, sometimes it then becomes easy, even for the top girls, to then take 2, 3, 4 nights off. It's also taxing on the self esteem, because since we are the "product" we're selling (obviously a problematic way of explaining it, but you know what I mean), bad token nights feel like they reflect on us personally. I've never logged off crying, but I know many, many, many girls who have. I also find it much more difficult to take pictures of myself that I'm happy with now that it's my job to do so- and I'm a photographer!

Here's what I think: if you know you don't want to go back to your old job, then you're going to have some in-between time finding a new job. You can try camming full time in the meantime, and if it doesn't work, then just go back to the job hunt!

Good luck, lovely! :thumbleft:

 

[motherbrain]

I started camming with no experience because I was abruptly fired from my main job I had for 4 1/2 years. I still had my other night job just in case, but it was probably a month or two before I found my earnings from camming were FAR more than my actual manual labor third shift job. It was a no-brainer and I ended up quitting my shitty job. I just focused REALLY hard REALLY fast on being a successful camgirl. I was barely making enough to support myself on two jobs anyway, so I had been in a bad financial spot for quite some time. My car got repossessed, I almost got evicted a few times, my power was shut off, I could barely eat, but with one job + camming I was still making more than I was at both normal jobs (and saving about 45hrs/week of manual labor too). I have to say that point in my life was where my depression was at its all-time worst, so I kind of understand what you're going through.

Honestly, you can do it. Camming has been my only job for almost an entire year now and I single-handedly support myself, my cat, and my fiance. All my bills are paid and I even have money for shopping sprees and all sorts of other things (I'm only a 2k-2500 camscore too). Honestly, I'd suggest starting ASAP, staying on for 2-4 hours a day at the same time every day, smile and you'll do great. Even if you don't make much right away, with consistency you will more than likely do better than you did at your normal job in no time.

Seriously, I'll even give you pointers and teach you how to be successful from the get-go if you'd like. I really feel for you and the situation you're in, as I was kind of going through the same thing not too long ago. Don't ever be afraid to message me if you have any questions. Really.

 

[IsabellaSnow]

I've never logged off crying, but I know many, many, many girls who have.

I did this recently I think for the first time. It wasn't fun. It was more because I'd recently lost a very close family member and it was my first time on cam. I felt very messed up, put that with a slow night and generally guys just being arseholes with no regs around it was too much. If you feel like this you really shouldn't get on cam. Definitely if you're already feeling vulnerable bad nights on cam can make you want to curl up in a ball and die (not literally speaking).

But like Lilah said camming can also make you feel amazing. It depends on you, your room and your regulars. I feel like camming can be like a drug. It's got incredible highs but also horrendous lows. The highs are also very addictive, hence why models can get irritated with members when they don't give them those epic nights. It's not just a finance thing, it's wanting that serotonin boost that comes from having epic tips. If you focus on it too much it can drive you crazy, and does drive people crazy. Hence why lots of models say they go a bit insane when they do top 100/top 20 months. It can do weird things to your head. As far as I can tell from models on here, the girls who are the most consistently successful are the best at not letting the pressure get to them. They take it with a pinch of salt, work hard and enjoy ride and the outcomes. I'm sure they have their own personal meltdowns, but they seem better at carrying on through them.

Like Lilah said, try camming out for a while and see how you get on. Most girls do crash and burn after the first few months.

One thing to keep in mind is being self employed can make it very hard to be employed in the future, and to get into being employed. Keep in mind what you would like to achieve in life and how camming can help you get there. There are plenty of career cammers and camgirls who would happily continue for the next 10/20 years. If you do choose to take up camming as your full time job it may be worth getting a one day a week job or even a volunteer job on the side to get you out of the house. I don't know what your lifestyle is but I know for me staying indoors all day on the computer is the worst thing for my depression. It makes me feel incredibly disconnected even when I have a lively social life and a stable partner.

 

[MaggieRider]

... camming for a living can be very stressful and can really de-motivate you to cam. If you have depression this can get so much worse. Because you have no need to leave the house it can stop you socialising and interacting in real life and even stop you wanting to leave the house at all. It gives you less reason to get up in the morning as essentially all you have to do is stumble out of bed for a few hours and get on cam, eventually that can create a situation where you're spending so much time not doing much that you come up with more and more excuses not to get on cam. It's very easy to say "all I have to make is x amount 5 days a week", but you'll have to come on cam those 5 days a week consistently which can be a lot harder than it sounds......

......

If you earn more like 100-400 tokens an hour and need/want 1200 then you're going to need to work 3 to 12 hours daily and would absolutely need to stick to schedule as you wouldn't have time to make up for extra days off.

Absolutely agreed with Isabella, I cam again now for 7 weeks, and I only had may be 10 days off when I got to get out of the house for anything more then "need to buy a milk and eggs" And even those 10 days on the beach, with friends, etc, I was all the time thinking about my score and tkns. I even count money now in my head in TKN because its easy for me, due to the local currency is 1tkn=1.2 Bht. So pack of cigarettes cost 87tkn for me!
I feel like my model persona kind a take over my previous own personality.
But I still enjoy it more then anything as a job right now in my life, and its my only income too.

My story - I wasn't in depression or anything and I also loved my job! I was an Entertainment Department Head in one of the hotels of the biggest tourism-shark around Southern Asia, Russia and Middle-East. So I loved my job. I loved it so much, that when hotel start to drawn in new non-quality ideas of non-professional General Manager, I keep working for 6 more months. But that was it. Situation made me so fed up, so I couldn't even get up in a morning anymore, cause I knew that I`ll be again doing something, my so loved job isn't about at all. So I was happy when finally I got fired! Whoohoo, I am with my perfect Cruiser Motorbike on the tropical street in foreigner country 10.000km from home! Time to buy a hammock! Perfect.

So I had $$ to go back to Moscow, but I had no time and wish to sell my bike or give up on my tropical life-style. And here I thought of one of my friends being a "on-line Model" and his phrase "you will be really good at it, you should try".

So I went back to Moscow for 3 weeks, and safely sit in my house and did some research. Ended up earning 8.000tkn in 2 weeks. Analyze my spending limits, rent, gas, food etc. And when I realize that I can live abroad with only cam being my income, I fly back to my tropics, take my bike from a friend who took care of it, while I was out, and felt all mighty!

It took me a lots of stress and nerves to get enough money first month even to cover my rent. Next month I got more then I wanted. 3rd month I got nothing, cause of my freaking studio(which sign me to MFC), 4-5 month I was out of cam (same freaking disappeared studio problem) and almost about to give up tropics and sell my already broken bike! Thanks to my regular and PP I did not! March finally I signed back to MFC as a Independent Model and made 15.000 in two weeks! April was a bit slow - 10.000. May.. well I already have 6.000 in 10 days now.

Dont Give UP! You are lovely, if you love you cam and your regulars, you will always be okey!
That is my (to much text) full advise!

 

[HoneyLane_]

Thank you so much ladies for your detailed responses. It's really helped me sort out the pros and the cons of it all. If any other gals stumble in here, I'd love to hear your opinions, too!

I do really feel like this is what I want and I'm going to work my ass off to make it work. Or try to.

 

[mynameisbob84]

But, as the others have said, sometimes it then becomes easy, even for the top girls, to then take 2, 3, 4 nights off. It's also taxing on the self esteem, because since we are the "product" we're selling (obviously a problematic way of explaining it, but you know what I mean), bad token nights feel like they reflect on us personally. I've never logged off crying, but I know many, many, many girls who have. I also find it much more difficult to take pictures of myself that I'm happy with now that it's my job to do so- and I'm a photographer!

I'm totes not a model but I feel like this is something to definitely keep in mind, especially if you're already prone to depression. While I see lots of cam girls blaming everything and everyone around them when the tokens aren't rolling in, I also see many, many cam girls take a few bad nights on cam as all the proof they need to conclude that they're not good enough and it's not long before they find themselves in a depressive cycle and it's horrible to watch from the member's side of things and it must be ten times worse for the model.

I get the impression that it's very, very easy to take it very personally when things aren't going well, because as Lilah pointed out, you're essentially marketing yourself (or an exaggerated version of yourself) to people, and if those people aren't interested in what you're selling, it must feel pretty shitty. The flipside of that, I guess, is that when all is going well and members are showering you with tokens because they like you and want to see more of you, that must feel pretty great. I guess it's a balancing act of knowing your strengths and weaknesses, knowing when there's things you can change about your approach to attracting more members and tokens, and knowing when it's just one of those nights where no matter how charming or flirty or sexy you are, you're just not gonna make your target. Which is probably easier said than done.

But that's not to say you can't do it. It's just something that, as an outsider looking in, strikes me as being something that trips a lot of new (and even established) models up, and is likely to be an even bigger issue for somebody already suffering from depression.

 

[HarmlessSquirrel]

Hi, obviously I'm not a model, and I'm not going to try to give you specific advice about that. I just wanted to say that, having dealt with depression, well, pretty much forever, I'm rooting for you and hope it works out great for you.

As Bob said, this is easier said than done, but do your best to remind yourself that slow days aren't a judgement on your worth in any way. Even the most successful will have slow stretches, and nobody can say for sure when those will happen.

It sounds to me like your plan to give it your all in May when you have a chance to makes a lot of sense.

Good luck!

 

[CallMeWilliam]

Somewhat off topic here but...

Am I the only one thinking that this post should have been in the models only section? I mean you do realize that there are probably members who read this forum gather information about models and use it to either troll them or use it to their advantage? Based on various threads on the subject of members behaving badly, it only takes one asshat to ruin your experience.

I can see them now... "A model who suffers from clinical depression lets make her cry on cam!!!"

While this behaviour is probably the minority why would you risk it?

:twocents-02cents:

 

[Ava Nicole]

Hi. I suffer from depression and I cam full time as my only job.

First off, my suggestion is to give it a few months and see how much you can make, on average, before quitting your job. Many models have a really great first few weeks. Once the new appeal wears off, or the new model tag disappears, earnings can and do drop. Even on sites that don't actively label new models, I have still found this to be the case. Lots of members like new shiny things, but don't actually intend to stick around. So for that reason, I say, give it some time, and see what your earnings actually average out to be. I think most women have the potential to make a lot of money doing this, but some do struggle with the hustle once their hustle isn't spelled out for them (new girl!).

A lot of models have given really excellent feedback about camming through depression. My own thoughts... Despite it being pretty social in nature, it can actually be pretty isolating since you really don't have to ever leave your house. A lot of models also tend to gravitate towards hours when people feel more social - like weekends and nights. But this can also really severely cut into your own social life if you are always working when your friends and loved ones are out having fun.

Camming is also a rollercoaster, in nature. Depression is also a rollercoaster. It's great when they line up together so you might hit a high in camming while you're feeling low which brings you up, or vice versa and have the motivation to do better when camming isn't going great. But it can be realllllly difficult when they don't line up that way. It is hard not to take it personally, especially if it is night after night and you are really struggling. Sometimes it IS our own fault and that can be a tough pill to swallow too. When I do badly, it can be difficult to realize that I didn't make a lot not because everyone else sucked sometimes, but because I didn't put the time and effort into making it go well. Or maybe I was in a bad mood on cam, or wasn't feeling playful etc. Bad nights kind of feed into motivation too... making it difficult to want to login next time and be cheerful and fun about it.

That all being said, camming is ALLL what you put into it and if you have the gusto to put yourself into it full time and stay motivated, then why not! It's a risk but so are a lot of things in life. It sounds to me like you have the mental health help you need too... so if you start to feel down, you can and should reach out again.

 

[Rose]

Hi. I suffer from depression and I cam full time as my only job.

First off, my suggestion is to give it a few months and see how much you can make, on average, before quitting your job. Many models have a really great first few weeks. Once the new appeal wears off, or the new model tag disappears, earnings can and do drop. Even on sites that don't actively label new models, I have still found this to be the case. Lots of members like new shiny things, but don't actually intend to stick around. So for that reason, I say, give it some time, and see what your earnings actually average out to be. I think most women have the potential to make a lot of money doing this, but some do struggle with the hustle once their hustle isn't spelled out for them (new girl!).

A lot of models have given really excellent feedback about camming through depression. My own thoughts... Despite it being pretty social in nature, it can actually be pretty isolating since you really don't have to ever leave your house. A lot of models also tend to gravitate towards hours when people feel more social - like weekends and nights. But this can also really severely cut into your own social life if you are always working when your friends and loved ones are out having fun.

Camming is also a rollercoaster, in nature. Depression is also a rollercoaster. It's great when they line up together so you might hit a high in camming while you're feeling low which brings you up, or vice versa and have the motivation to do better when camming isn't going great. But it can be realllllly difficult when they don't line up that way. It is hard not to take it personally, especially if it is night after night and you are really struggling. Sometimes it IS our own fault and that can be a tough pill to swallow too. When I do badly, it can be difficult to realize that I didn't make a lot not because everyone else sucked sometimes, but because I didn't put the time and effort into making it go well. Or maybe I was in a bad mood on cam, or wasn't feeling playful etc. Bad nights kind of feed into motivation too... making it difficult to want to login next time and be cheerful and fun about it.

That all being said, camming is ALLL what you put into it and if you have the gusto to put yourself into it full time and stay motivated, then why not! It's a risk but so are a lot of things in life. It sounds to me like you have the mental health help you need too... so if you start to feel down, you can and should reach out again.

This is really great advice for anyone camming, problems or not. Honestly if I would have realized this sooner in my camming career, I probably would have done a lot better and been more serious about it than I was.

 

[HoneyLane_]

You've all been so incredibly helpful! I'm still undecided on exactly what I'm going to do (you've all giving me so much to think about ), but having so many pros and cons to weigh out is great. Thanks for taking the time to read my mini novel and for replying back in such great detail. :romance-heartstiny:

 

[LaceyRoyce]

One other thing (it may have been mentioned - i didnt read all the posts) to consider, aside from the really good advice been given, is that if you do camming for any length of time as your only employment, you will have a BIG gap in your resume. It's something I didn't think a lot about 3 years ago, and am thinking about now.

 

[HoneyLane_]

One other thing (it may have been mentioned - i didnt read all the posts) to consider, aside from the really good advice been given, is that if you do camming for any length of time as your only employment, you will have a BIG gap in your resume. It's something I didn't think a lot about 3 years ago, and am thinking about now.

I recall hearing that! I was thinking about that and I was wondering if my leave would be an okay excuse? Because I had my leave and then whenever the doctor says I should go back to working, say that I decided that continuing to take an extended time off to continue my rehabilitation? That sounds pretty awful cause lielielielieeee, but it's not like a future employer can actually confirm that can they? Camming leave no mark on my resume and all that.

Oh! Plus I do plan to return to school while camming, which would explain a lot, too!

 

[GreatDane]

One other thing (it may have been mentioned - i didnt read all the posts) to consider, aside from the really good advice been given, is that if you do camming for any length of time as your only employment, you will have a BIG gap in your resume. It's something I didn't think a lot about 3 years ago, and am thinking about now.

I recall hearing that! I was thinking about that and I was wondering if my leave would be an okay excuse? Because I had my leave and then whenever the doctor says I should go back to working, say that I decided that continuing to take an extended time off to continue my rehabilitation? That sounds pretty awful cause lielielielieeee, but it's not like a future employer can actually confirm that can they? Camming leave no mark on my resume and all that.

Oh! Plus I do plan to return to school while camming, which would explain a lot, too!

There are some background checks that tie in with your personal ID number (Social Security Number) not all background checks are based on name alone anymore, but there are other ways around the checks. Never lie on the application if you can help it if you are trying to get into some type of security position which would be one of the more intense background checks. The more transparent you are on them the more likely they will look favorable on you.

Take the time and do some classes, not sure how MFC, CB, Streamate etc. show up on the W-2 reports, not everyone is aware of all of the parent names of the companies. Those reports do not say what capacity you have held in said companies, could be anything from tech support, customer relations, advertising. As long as it can be explained a little you can justify the income and there is not a "GAP" in your resume.

 

[DirtyMoneyXXX]

FYI, if you are on leave from a job, you are not allowed to collect income from any other source (including self employment). If you employer were to find out, they could take legal action and you may be required to pay back any income you collected from them, while collecting from other sources.

 

[HoneyLane_]

FYI, if you are on leave from a job, you are not allowed to collect income from any other source (including self employment). If you employer were to find out, they could take legal action and you may be required to pay back any income you collected from them, while collecting from other sources.

I'm not using or even depositing any money I've collected for camming until I'm cleared to return to work.