Professional flirts

In Japan, where office jobs are tough to come by, hostessing has become a reasonable alternative. Remember that the duties are almost always nonsexual and the pay can run 100K a year. From the NYT:

In a 2009 survey of 1,154 high school girls, by the Culture Studies Institute in Tokyo, hostessing ranked No. 12 out of the 40 most popular professions, ahead of public servant (18) and nurse (22). "It's only when you're young that you can earn money just by drinking with men," said Mari Hamada, 17. Many of the cabaret clubs, or kyabakura, are swank establishments of dark wood and plush cushions, where waiters in bow ties and hostesses in evening gowns flit about guests sipping fantastically expensive wine.

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In recent months, clubs have also started to feel the squeeze of the bad economy. Hostess wages are starting to fall to as little as $16 an hour. Still, that rate remains above many daytime jobs here. So, the young women keep coming. The Kabuki-cho district is lined with dark-suited scouts recruiting women. One club recruiter said some women turn up to interviews with their mothers in tow, which never would have happened when the job was less respectable. "Women are being laid off from daytime jobs and so look for work with us," said Hana Nakagawa, who runs a placement agency for higher-end clubs in Tokyo.

Keep in mind that L.A. has its share of Japanese clubs that feature hostesses pouring drinks and making the guys feel good.