it is necessary to be professional in real life?

[AnitaDuarte]

I wonder if it is necessary to be professional in real life to act as a doctor / psychologist in second life. I need an occupation here, but not currently work in real.

[Rolig Loon]

It all depends on the profession, I suppose.  I am not a RL librarian, but I have had that role in SL for 7 years and nobody has complained.  Being a doctor is a bit different, because there's the risk that someone might actually believe that you ARE a doctor and might take your well-intentioned advice seriously.  If so, there's a moderate risk that you could cause real or perceived harm and get yourself sued in RL for it.  That's not a risk that I would be prepared to take, personally.  In fact, I know of a couple of RL doctors who are not willing to take a virtual professional role because of it either.

Having said that, though, there are many regions in SL where you can go to get medical information, public health advisories, and so forth.  Working in one of those areas could be a very rewarding, enjoyable way to spend your time in SL.

[Madelaine McMasters]

Hi Anita,

I attempt to murder people here, yet I am not a professional real life murderer. What's important is that my victims know I'm not a real life professional, so they don't mistake my murder attempts for the real thing. And I think that's how you should approach role-play here.

When people claim to have professional (or worse yet, licensed) expertise they don't really have, it's no longer roleplaying. It's deception. And even if one had the expertise and the license, SL is not the place to practice those professions. Professional people do give legal and medical advice here, but always with a disclaimer.

Have fun!

[Syo Emerald]

I don't want to shatter your dreams, but you can't simply go into SL and expect to earn as much as you would need to substitute a real life job. Most people who have "jobs" in SL (DJs, Hosts and so on) get a few dollars if they are good and thats it. A few dollars for a whole lot of time.

There is only a small minority of people who makes an income that can pay bills. Those people are usually contentcreators and shopowners.

You however said, you want to be a doctor/psychologist? Forget it. There may not be someone checking if you are a real professional, but pretending to be one and not being honest can put those who seek your help at risk, because you have no clue what you are doing. There is a reason why professionals have studied years, before they see their first patient.

And even if you ignore that...you won't make a living here. People aren't willing to pay you 35$/hour for therapy sessions and medical advice, because most people come to SL to relax from the real world and are aware of the risk, that someone could lie.

[Lindal Kidd]

As the others have said, you CAN roleplay a doctor, psychologist, or any other profession in SL.  But, besides the risks to your potential "patients" that the others pointed out, I'd like to point out an emotional/mental health risk to YOU if you attempt to give counseling in SL.

That is the risk that your "patient" is roleplaying, too.  There are people in SL who delight in playing mind games with/on/to other people.  People who gain enormous satisfaction in eliciting sympathy or pity or concern for themselves.

It is very hard, using the medium of text or even voice, to detect when a person is lying to you.

If you want to be a "professional" in SL, I recommend that you be a lawyer.  People ALWAYS lie to lawyers, and everyone expects THEM to lie, too. 

Second Life is ideal for lawyers.