how can i get a job that pays me good money

[Lenniana]

Just yeasterday i joined scond life. I had no cash and i wanted to buy an avatar. Can you help me and give me names of some great jobs. I dont wanna be a NOOB!

[Madelaine McMasters]

Welcome to Second Life, Lenniana!

Years from now, you'll look back to your first days in SL and say "Oh, to be a noob again." It's not easy to make good money here, though it can be done. Most of us are here for the fun of it, and that needn't cost a dime. The SL Marketplace is full of freebie items to wear, and many of us live the nomad lifestyle, requiring no land on which to rez our stuff.

But if you really want a job, you'll need some skills. You could make and sell things here, but that requires at least some familiarity with external image editing tools and the pecularities of building in SL. SL's learning curve is pretty steep, so don't expect to make money as a creator anytime soon.

If you've got good social skills, you might find employment as a greeter, hostess, or entertainer at a club, but club owners are not likely to hire someone who's still learning to move about, and hasn't yet acquired an attractive and varied wardrobe. So even here, you've got some work ahead of you.

For the vast majority of us, SL is a pleasant and low cost diversion from real life, which is were the real money is to be made.

[Syo Emerald]

There are many many things for free or little money out there. It takes a bit more time to find good free things, but its the best for the start, I think. But of course, you aren't as free with your choice as if you had all the money in the world.

I'll introduce you to the rough truth: There aren't "great jobs" just around the corner. Of course, this would need a definition what a "good" job is for you...hmm...
Well, there are basically two types of jobs in SL: The "skilled" and the "unskilled" ones. The first section includes all types of self-employed creators, people who have RL skills in photoshop, 3D software or scripting. They often build and create complete objects or parts of them and sell them in their own stores or they work for hire and create custom products. They are also probably the group who makes the most money in SL, besides some few landlords who own huge estates.

The second section usually contains jobs that are more social. They require usually more "soft skills". Dancers, Hosts, Greeters, DJs, Models and Escorts would fit into that category, for example. They often get paid by "tips", only some have a guranteed income.

Your biggest problems with those jobs will be 3 things:

- your accounts age: Many people state that they don't hire anybody under the age of 30 days, because they expect their staffmembers to know SL well enough to not struggle with basic things. They also hope it brings them more relieable staff and more experianced with common etiquette.

- your avatar: If you are still running around with the starter avatar or with some really old freebies, people are less likely to hire you, especially for positions like dancer, model or escort, which are based a lot on the look of an avatar. If you search for good freebies, you may not run into that problem.

- your expections/experiance: You have just started SL. Do you already know whats fun for you or what interests you? Are you aware if your expections match with reality?

That last point leads me to my final note: Work in SL is usually not even losely paid as good as work in RL. You will never get the same amount of money for an hour of work. Therefore, work in SL is only a good option, if you have fun doing it and the money comes second. One US-dollar is around 250L, so if you struggle a lot you may want to use the option to transfer some...maybe the amount a coffee at Starbucks would cost, and put a decent avatar together.

I'll say explore a bit, before you jump into the deep water too fast. You just came into the world...and that world is big! If you need help, you can also IM me, I'm always up for giving some help or answer a question.