Is camming going to ruin my acting career?

[ladylydia]

So I've been thinking about doing camming to make extra money for a decent chunk of time, and I joined a camming site the second I was able to (I've been 18 for a week now).

My original plan was to just post nudes, a few videos here and there, and do sexting, all without showing my face. However, I haven't made any money from this, and I've gotten the impression that if I want to start making money, I'm gonna need to start showing my face and doing live shows and stuff.

The thing is, I'm in college for acting, and I fully intend on becoming an actor. I'm worried that if I show my face while camming, I risk being recognized in the future and losing out on acting jobs. I don't know how good the odds are of this actually happening though since there are so many camgirls out there, and there are also so many brunette actresses out there. I don't know if it's worth worrying about when I know that I could potentially make a lot of money off of sex work.

Should I quit while I'm behind so I don't risk anything?

 

[Gen]

I definitely wouldn’t cam if I wanted to be an actor. Even if it’s just local theatre or whatever, it’s so out there and you’ll only get more visible as you get more success. Personally I think it’s smart you considered this before doing it, and I’d find a different job, but that’s just me.

 

[ladylydia]

I definitely wouldn’t cam if I wanted to be an actor. Even if it’s just local theatre or whatever, it’s so out there and you’ll only get more visible as you get more success. Personally I think it’s smart you considered this before doing it, and I’d find a different job, but that’s just me.

Thank you! After making the post I realized that if I'm having doubts like this, I probably shouldn't be doing this in the first place. I've deleted all my accounts, so now I will hopefully never have to worry about it again!

 

[Issa]

Consider phone sex through a site like NiteFlirt if you really need extra cash with anonymity. It won't pay cam money, but it IS good money as you gain more experience.

 

[AudriTwo]

Consider phone sex through a site like NiteFlirt if you really need extra cash with anonymity. It won't pay cam money, but it IS good money as you gain more experience.

this. you don't have to use your face too. there are plenty of ladies who use stock photos.

 

[EmiliaSong]

I graduated from a theatre conservatory several years ago. Camming would hurt your career. You won't be able to teach classes (which a lot of full-time actors do) or hold a position within a profitable company. You'd have to be incredibly successful and popular (like Stoya or Sasha Grey who aren't even camgirls) in order to move past the sex work stigma, and even then most of your roles would revolve around sex work.

But like the ladies said above, phone sex is a good way to make extra money while maintaining anonymity. You could also try Twitch if you have a special skill. I imagine you already have the charisma to keep a room's interest if you're in an acting program.

Also, some extra advice from my casting agent friend: start your career in a "regional" city before moving to NYC or LA to build up your credits. Chicago is a fabulous place to start even if your eventual goal is to do film. The talent-to-roles ratio is a lot better, it's more affordable, and a lot of big names debut new plays there that NYC companies snatch up.

Break a leg!