Music
Ex-kindergarten teacher now makes six-figure salary as professional twerker
by Mark Teo
October 14, 2014
For many arts grads—wussup, cultural studies degree!—jobs can be hard to come by. Traditionally, for the academic-minded, the choices have been simple: Go to teacher’s college, or go to law school. And if you’re struggling between a life of instructing shithead teenagers or vetting punishing corporate contracts, we have the solution—choose neither. Become a professional twerker.
We’re kidding, of course. But that’s the choice that Jessica Vanessa, a 22-year-old Florida kindergarten teacher, made. After her butt made her famous on Vine, where she has 2 million followers and nearly 700 million (!!!) loops, Vanessa was approached by advertisers. After quitting her job to twerk full time, she now says her salary is in six figures.
Jealous? And, at 22, she paid off her student loans.
“It’s definitely a blessing. I bought a new car, paid it off in full and I was able to get out of debt from the school that I graduated from,” she told the Daily Mail. “It’s quite simple really, the more followers you get, the more advertisers want to pay you for mentioning their products—and I’ve got lots.”
So, instead of being a teacher—where wages a relatively low, competition for jobs are fierce, and working hours and class sizes are spiking—she decided to leave it all behind. So, how much more lucrative is her new profession?
What I make in six seconds would take me four months to make as a teaching assistant.
For her part, it’s a no-brainer for Vanessa. Her Vine isn’t strictly twerking—it’s really a portrait of her life—and when she does get down to gyrating, she says it’s just dancing. (“I would have no problem showing my grandmother my twerking videos,” adds Vanessa, “she is wild and crazy and would probably want to join in with me.”) Still, she says she’s received negative comments, which have caused breakdowns. Such—sigh—is the internet.
But hey, F the haters. We’re proud of you, Vanessa. GET PAID.
[H/T Jezebel]
