SoTxBob said:
$100 a day isn't shit unless you live in the middle of nowhere or work at McD's.
I suppose the middle of nowhere just includes most of the lower 48 states, then. In many of the lower 48, one actually can live somewhat comfortably off of $100 a day. Just not in the I-95 Corridor (where I am, outside of Philly) or Southern Florida or most of California or near Seattle, WA; and a few other major metropolitan areas.
Oh, and $100 a day, pre-tax, at an hourly job is $12.50 an hour for an 8 hour shift. I don't think McDonalds pays anywhere near $12.50 an hour to new employees, nor gives them 8 hour shifts. They'll start at the federal minimum wage, which is I think $7.25 an hour, and employees will be lucky if they break 30 hours a week. It might be $7.50 now, I haven't checked.
Now, where I live, $12.50 an hour isn't very good money. You have to stretch it to make it work. But, like I said, my state has a cost of living 32% above the national average and housing and apartment costs are over 70% above the national average (average cost of a 1 bedroom apartment in NJ is $800 a month...). Go down to Delaware and $12.50 an hour gets you a lot more. Go into Maryland and further south, even more. Or go west to Ohio and such, and $12.50 an hour gets you a lot, as well.
But, seriously, check the local want ads. See how many jobs are even offering starting hourly rates at $12.50 an hour ($26,000 a year). The economy is shit. Jobs are paying less and less whenever they can. And because the economy is shit, people can be forced to take jobs for far less than they'd want to be paid. It's an employer's market right now, and they know it.
The_Brown_Fox said:
As for the comments about what a model's goal should be...for some models $100/day is awesome, and to others $100/day might be considered a bad day.
And my particular comment was based around a brand new, never cammed before model. I think setting reasonable goals when starting is the best way to not get discouraged. As those goals are met and surpassed on a regular basis, then set the goals higher.
I don't think any reasonable person would start camming and expect to be making tens of thousands of dollars in the first month. Those sorts of expectations will lead to discouragement and possibly even self doubt about themselves. With no people knowing them, no regulars who tip, no "heroes" to help out on real slow days... there's no way that type of expectation can be reached.
Start reasonable, and then aim higher if the early goals get met and surpassed. For those models who can literally make $1000 or more in a day, well, their goals are already set that high, so they keep them that high.
mynameisbob84 said:
I get the need for CamScore but the whole "stay on too long and your CamScore drops" thing strikes me as counter-productive. For models who aren't getting tipped up the wazoo, it means that even if they're enjoying themselves and WANT to stay on cam for a while longer, they know that they can't do that without worrying about their CamScore dropping.
For (tipping) members, that means there's less models online at any one time for them to hang out with, get to know, and ultimately tip. For MFC, that means less money in the long run.
Nobody seems to benefit from that particular aspect of the CamScore thang.
Except there's so many models now, that there's always going to be someone for members to find. Especially the Eastern European studio girls who work actual set schedules (6-8 hour shifts). If someone's preferred models aren't online, there's always someone around that might pique their interest, now a days.
Besides, MFC doesn't lose any money if people aren't tipping their preferred models and already have tokens. MFC makes their money right when the tokens are purchased. Did someone buy 900 tokens for $75 with the expectations of taking a favorite private and that model went offline? If they decide to save them for that private and that model isn't back on for 2 days, MFC hasn't lost any money from the deal. That's just 2 extra days those tokens were already paid for and didn't have to get paid out to a model.
CammiStar said:
How is that realistic in your opinion when you are not the one exposing yourself on the internet? You can not compare this to a "regular hourly job" because it simply is not. And a model has to take from the $100 her federal taxes as well as self employment taxes (which you do not have to pay at a vanilla job), health insurance (which private is much more expensive), internet, 401k or an IRA which she does not receive matching on from an "employer", etc. etc.
Yes, you may have to work longer for that, but you aren't fucking your holes online for it. Why is it because someone working a vanilla job has to work longer should that mean cam models should be happy "making what someone at an hourly job" makes. I am really tired of members suggesting "well I have to work x hours to make as much as she does in 4, thus she should just be happy with that." How long it takes you or anyone else to make what a cam model makes has nothing to do with anything.
I wasn't going to bring up the differences in the types of jobs. You did. So...
Yes a model performs sexual acts for money. Yes they have sometimes thousands of guys jacking off to them at the same time. Yes, as a psychological thing, it can be an issue. Yes they have to worry about assholes recording these shows and putting them on the internet where, no matter how hard they try, the model will never be able to get them all removed from the world. And, yes, you have to pay taxes at the end of the year or every quarter and buy your own health insurance and such.
But, when was the last any model had to worry about an 8000 lb slab of aluminum falling on them and maiming or killing them (happend a few years back at one of our plants, dude was just a bloody smear on the floor)? I have to worry about that every day. When was the last time a model had to worry about shavings from a saw cutting metal might get in their eyes? How about if some idiot who thinks they know how to drive a forklift nearly taking someone's legs out (happened today, 6 more inches the dude would have been crippled), or someone driving the forklifts around them with the forks chest high at max speed because they are dumbasses? How about what happened to me because some jackass decided it would be funny to over lubricate a tool and when I went to put the compressed ait hose on it I got the oil sprayed in my eyes nose and mouth? And I already have arthritis and rotator cuff injuries in both shoulders; and blood clots in my right leg from a previous job where a forklift driver ran over my foot.
And you know what? I make a hell of a lot less than a lot of cam girls, while dealing with shit that can literally maim or kill me every single day. And I'm not even talking about the top models. Remember that $100 a day goal I said would be a good goal for brand new models? I don't even make that pre-tax. $96.40 for an 8 hour day. AND I have to worry about my taxes changing every single paycheck. I work no overtime to around 10 hours overtime and I lose about 28% in taxes. I work over 10 hours overtime in a week? My taxes instantly jump to almost 40% of my check gone. Used to be worse when I worked someplace where some weeks we literally worked over 100 hours in a week. Taxes took 70% of the 100+ hour checks. We literally worked just to pay the government, and then if we didn't have kids, didn't even get it all back.
Yeah, jumping tax brackets for a week or two at a time is real fun. Especially when you know you aren't getting paid what you should be for the shit you have to do and the danger you're in... with the company's excuse that they're paying good money... Yeah, in TN, where they're based it's good money. But, like I said, the economy is shit. I have to take a job with health insurance where I can get it. And everyone around here wants to pay the same or lower wages.
We deal with different issues for our jobs. It's life. I take my pain killers and my blood thinners and I go on. Cam girls deal with douchecocks and perverts and guys who would stalk them if given half a chance and go on.
But, even knowing I make less than a lot of cam girls, I find money to tip or group or private. But I'm not one of those "heroes" that can throw thousands of tokens at a model every day. I get by and try to tip/group/private when I can. The models that just enjoy me being around when they're online know this. We laugh, we joke, we wish each other good morning and good night, etc. I don't beg, I don't demand, and half the time if they are doing public shows I'm not even at the computer. Hell, some of them I don't even really perv anymore. I just hang out and tip with funny tip notes. More just someone to chill with before or after work.
I didn't want to make a rant, but the whole "you don't have to deal with X" thing is asinine. You don't have to deal with a lot of shit a lot of members do as a cam girl, and you should be glad you don't. Members don't have to deal with a lot of shit that cam girls do, and they should be glad they don't. We all have shit in our lives and jobs that others don't have to deal with, and we should all be glad we don't have to share that shit with the rest of the world.
But, look on the bright side of camming... at least you CAN have a good time while working and making money, or trying to make money. There's a ton of people in the world who can't say the same thing.