There’s no evidence other than the word of a pathological liar that she ever had a job that let her transfer across the country. Kat is nowhere near intelligent or charismatic enough to have a position so important that they would transfer her instead of just finding someone else. Plus if she had a great job that would allow this kind of transfer, why the fuck would she move in with Phil? I refuse to believe there wasn’t a financial component to her decision to do so, bc we all know how repulsive he is to us and we don’t have to smell his greasy walrus stench or have him convulse on top of us like an exceptional seal.
It seems far more plausible that she was working some minimum wage gig as a waitress or cashier or something and was wooed with tales of the wonders and riches of the Gout Kingdom, so she moved out there and spent a few weeks finding another job doing something similarly menial. Calculations saying she makes $40k-60 seem overly generous to me as well. Minimum wage in Seattle is $15, so she’d be clearing closer to $30k if she was working 40hr weeks every week of the year. But considering the way most jobs of that sort work and her likely lack of any appreciable intelligence or skills, it’s very possible she’s getting less than full-time every week, and probably makes sub-30k annually.
While I’m sure Phil’s money grubbing ass is delighted to have any extra income Kat does bring in, I don’t think that’s his main reason for wanting her there. He’s all about pretending to be a cool, tough, successful adult and Leanna leaving him was a huge blow to his ego bc he couldn’t claim to be smashing pussy like the ladies man he imagines himself to be. Kat is a status symbol to him, just like the house, the BMW, or his toy collection. He needs her to present the image that people love and care about him when we all know even with her living there, he’s still the same reclusive, friendless little goblin he always was and always will be. Now he just has a roommate who he can brag about and use to hide from the fact that nearly everyone who knows his name despises him.