Its a classic “if you’re in the top 1% of the industry its pretty great, but shit for everyone else”.
You could say the same thing about NFL linemen or professional musicians. Spending half your life to develop a talent into something people will pay to witness, getting maybe two to five good years out of it if you’re lucky, and then retreating back to the low-skill service sector once you’ve destroyed your body.
Also, lots and lots of drug use and managers/owners who will exploit the fuck out of your few good years. And a disturbingly high rate of physical and sexual assault to keep the gears of industry turning profitably.
Even many of the top performers have told some absolutely horrendous stories, so even if it’s great for a time they’ve probably had to wade through more shit than the average porn star. Alongside this, even many of the best stars might have only been active for a small period of time, but have pumped out dozens/hundreds of films.
I’ve known some people that have got involved with sex work, some working on professional shoots/films, and while it was a very protected industry at times, they’ve told some nasty stories of in-dating, jealousy/sabotage, pressure to do work in camming alongside, and nudes they’ve sent to agents being leaked online without consent. Even the less grim parts, like a studio pairing two girls that had never met before, telling them to drive 2 hours to a set, and within 2-3 minutes having them shoot together, is all crazy to me.
With that being said, one girl I used to work with got involved with porn, and she seems to have loved it. She went from few career prospects to driving a BMW and having enough money to buy a house and seem financially stable. I guess it varies person-to-person.
