YNOT EUROPE – A new study has uncovered statistics that may surprise some observers: One quarter of women who work as lap dancers in the UK possess a university degree, and the majority of the women are well-paid for work they enjoy.

Researchers at the University of Leeds surveyed 300 exotic dancers across the country and discovered few felt forced into the job. In fact, many chose stripping over more conventional employment because they can schedule shifts around other jobs and the money is good. Some earn as much as £48,000 annually.

“These young women do not buy the line that they are being exploited, because they are the ones making the money out of a three-minute dance and a bit of a chat,” researcher Dr. Teela Sanders told the Independent newspaper. “You have got to have a certain way about you to do it. They say 80 percent of the job is talking.

“These women do work hard for their money,” she added. “You don’t just turn up and wiggle your bum.”

The year-long study produced a number of illuminating preliminary findings. Some of the survey respondents said they were actresses and models who strip in order to earn income between jobs. Recent university graduates said they can search for a career while earning more as strippers than they would as barmaids or in other post-degree “bridge” jobs. Sanders and her fellow researchers discovered the average lap dancer earns £232 per shift after expenses like club fees and commissions, leaving most with an annual income between £24,000 and £48,000.

In addition to the one-fourth who already have attained a degree, another one-third are enrolled in some form of higher education and 14 percent are working to fund an undergraduate degree. Six percent of the dancers said they strip to fund a post-graduate education.

Among the negatives the women mentioned were lack of job security and potential financial exploitation by clubs.

“There is an issue about whether these women become trapped in the job because of the money,” Sanders told the Independent. “I think people often stay longer than they want.”