A Sydney-based male escort who ran IT Businesses in the late '90s and 2000s said he quit IT and found something more rewarding.
John Oh who used to do web design and software development became a male escort after being hit by the global financial crisis.
'I started sex work for the money, plain and simple,' said John, who charges AUD$350 an hour or AUD$1500 for an overnight booking. While it was never his decision to become a full-time escort, John found a new life as his client base grew and slowly displaced the IT work.
The perks, he said, are that it's 'well paid, varied work, so it's never boring'.
'I get to meet interesting people who I get along with. I get to make a genuine difference to people's lives - a small number to be sure, but it's something that IT never allowed me to do,' he added.
Aside from earning enough to pay his bills, he finds that the most rewarding part of his job is on the emotional level.
'The most powerful and memorable moments for me are always when someone I am with has a big emotional release,' he said.
While he thinks that sex work can be a great career, it's not a get rich quick scheme because it takes hard work, dedication and selflessness to do it right.
image from inspirobot
But for those men who are considering switching a career and venturing into escorting, John Oh has the following words to say:
'The most important thing to remember - especially for men providing a service to women - is that it is a huge responsibility that you take on when you take money from a woman for a sexual experience.
'She is vulnerable physically and emotionally - and possibly in really serious ways that have to do with trauma of some kind in her past that you will know nothing about until she cries on your shoulder in bed after sex.
'If you aren't prepared to respect that and accept that responsibility of it then don't be an escort for women. You will just hurt a lot of people.'
And also, 'You may end up as an outcast from your family and friends, so you have to be prepared for that and own it if you do.
