A woman who worked 60 hours per week but still struggled to make ends meet has revealed how she now rakes in the cash going on dates with older men.
Katija Cortez never dreamed of being an accountant, but she believed it would be a ‘secure’ career path that her parents would approve of.
But it soon became evident that the hours she was putting in weren’t worth the reward.
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The 29-year-old ended up doing 12-hour days plus weekend overtime to meet targets and yet was barely scraping by with bills piling up.
In an effort to make some extra cash, she took a shot at something completely different after a friend suggested she sign up for an escort agency.
Katija used to make £610 a week as an accountant – now she earns the same amount in an hour.
“I don’t think anybody really grows up wanting to be an accountant,” said Katija, who has 17,400 followers on her Instagram page, @playmatekatija.
“I fell into it after doing an internship and was offered a job afterwards.
“It felt like a stable income but I hated the travel to the office and was exhausted most days.
“I don’t know where I got the energy from to keep doing the job for seven years.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that my career would turn out the way that it has now.
“I wanted more out of life so when a friend, who was joining an escort agency, suggested that I go along, I said yes.
“She told me to watch Secret Diary of A Call Girl for inspiration.
“I thought maybe I’d have one client here and one there and just make some extra money.
“At first, they were younger men and we’d go to parties together or have drinks.
“The real money started rolling in when I got clients who were older and happy to splash the cash on good company and good sex.”
Katija’s clients take her out for lunch, dinner or for fun visits to theme parks.
But – as sex work is primarily legal in Australia, though specifics depend on the state – sex is a key part too, with Katija saying she sleeps with “99%” of the men.
The Sydney native still had to break the news to her family.
Her mum, who is a professor of psychology, was “disappointed” but Katija’s tradie dad was excited.
She said: “They didn’t know for years because I kept it a secret and they aren’t really on social media.
“I wanted to tell them when I was successful enough and had money that would outweigh the judgment where they could just look past the escorting part of the job – and see all the other cool stuff that I was doing.
“I sat them down and said I don’t really do the job that they thought that I did.
“They still thought I was an accountant and was going to stay at the company I worked at until I was a partner.
“They were pretty shocked.
“Surprisingly, my dad was more okay with everything than my mom was.”
When in the past she was stuck to a desk and working long hours, now Katija manages her own time and is able to jet off on holidays to places like Singapore, Bali and the US.
She’s also bought herself two homes that she rents out, won Playboy’s Playmate of The Year in 2023 and has her own podcast.
Katija believes that her challenging time as an accountant helped teach her the “discipline” and work ethic required in her current role.
She added: “My old job wasn’t very glamorous.
“I thought I was going to stay at my firm and work there until I became a partner.
“It’s crazy looking back and thinking that I used to get up every day at five o’clock and then get on this damn train and trek all the way to the city.
“Now, I can travel the world and I have two houses.
“There’s more flexibility to take time off when I need it.
“Every day is different; after coffee, breakfast and the gym, my day could consist of anything from beauty appointments, photo shoots and meeting clients to filming content for my online pages.
“But if I wake up and I don’t really want to do anything, I can just watch TV – it’s an incredible life.”
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