Psychology and neuroscience graduate Isla Moon has revealed how she turned down a PhD offer and walked away from academia after making her annual salary in just two days on her adult content platform.
From Research Assistant to Adult Content Creator
Before entering the adult industry, Isla was working as a research assistant in a neuroscience lab and dedicated to pursuing a career as a clinical psychologist. After completing her undergraduate degree with straight As, she was on track to continue into a PhD and was earning a $15,000 (£11,000) annual salary while building experience in academic research.
“I was a research assistant at my lab and was applying to do my PhD, at the time,” Isla said. “I already had some research papers to my name, and was going down the path of all of that stuff.”
Discovery of Adult Content Platform
While finishing her degree, Isla (@the.isla.moon) stumbled across a story explaining how an adult content creator set a record by making $1 million in 24 hours and began wondering whether someone with no audience could do the same. “I read this Bella Thorne article and that's when I found out about [popular adult content platform],” she said. “I was like, damn, maybe I could do that. I had no followers. My personal Instagram had, I think, 18 followers.”
Decision to Start After Graduation
Determined to finish university before starting anything new, Isla decided to wait until she completed her degree. She recalls bringing up the idea of starting an adult content page to her long-term boyfriend while at home in their first apartment together. “We were in our really bad bed bug infested apartment making the bed,” she said. “And I was like, imagine if we did [adult content]. Then he was like, yeah. We should do it. So I decided then that the second after I graduate, we’ll start.”
The day after her final exam, Isla posted her first nude online. She explained she initially tried Reddit, but says growth didn’t come until she pivoted to TikTok. “It didn't work out very much for like a month, and I was like, I'm gonna quit,” she explained. “But I was like, ‘I'll post on TikTok and see what happens.’” Two weeks later, Isla’s whole life changed.
Booming Success and PhD Offer
“My [adult content page] blew up. And the same day I blew up, I got my offer to do my PhD.” Faced with two wildly different futures, Isla says the decision became impossible to ignore once she saw the money coming in. “I made my salary in two days,” she said. “I figured, if all fails and I make no more, I’d have a couple years to figure it out and get a job and all that. So it’s, like, I had to.”
Declining the PhD
After speaking with her mum, and asking herself what she really wanted for her future, Isla ultimately decided to decline the PhD offer and commit to content creation full-time. “I called my mum. I remember telling her the situation like, ‘Mum - I do [adult content] now, by the way - what should I do?’” she recalled. “She told me, ‘Just do what your heart says. Just do what makes you happy.’”
Isla remembers making the difficult phone call that changed the trajectory of her career path completely. “I remember calling the university saying ‘sorry, I will decline the offer’,” she explained. “Like, who does that? Who declines a PhD offer to go all in on [adult content]?”
Rapid Earnings Growth
Within months, Isla watched as her earnings continued to climb from five to six figures - placing her in the top 0.1% of creators on the platform in record time. She said: “My first month, I made $30,000 (£23,400). Then the next was like $50,000 (£39,000). After that was like $100,000 (£78,000). It just kept going. I was in the top 0.1% after three months, and have stayed in that position until now.”
