Money makes the world go around, right? Apparently, this is not only true for the world we live in outside of Second Life but also the Grid world we all know and love. It seems Second Life is far more than just a video game but its own country with a GDP larger than some countries. Yes, that’s right, with a GDP of over 600 million USD Second life could literally be listed as a country in the range and scope of its free market power.

The question this reporter set out to answer was “Can you Make a decent Real-World Wage in second life?” I went out and polled the citizens of Second life with this very question on my mind and before I asked, while I was asking and after I Had asked the answer was unequivocally the same, a resounding yes, I spoke to Coders, Scripters, Graphic Designers, Musicians, Artists, Painters, Visionaries, Sim Builders, Breeders, Escorts, Real Estate Agents, and Event Managers.

The question was so undeniably answered with a “yes” that the question itself began to demand an upgrade. It was Organically morphed into the natural follow up question of “What’s the most and least Lucrative?” This is where the answers became subjective, some people claiming that escorting was by far the most guaranteed long term while others stating that real estate has given rise the grids first real-world millionaires. Close look at the facts reveals that while real estate is the most lucrative on paper it’s also one of the hardest to gain a footing due to the monopoly on the market held by older names that are quite frankly giants in their industry whereas escorting guarantees an average of 20k-100k per day depending on hours per day, that’s up to 400$ USD per day. But others I spoke to claimed that the escorting market was flooded with more workers that clients due to its easy access and lucrative nature. Musicians come in as the idle of the road, descent wage earners with anywhere from 4k to 40k per day depending on your popularity, even your intrepid reporter here himself sits in that category. Sadly, the answers I got for the least Lucrative was overwhelmingly photographers, those that take your pictures and photo shop the magic in to give you that professional look, on average a photography shoot commission is around 5k however rarely do you find a photographer with back logged work, most have it as an uncommon thing except for a few exceptions.

My Verdict: the verdict simply is Second Life is the best kept side hustle secret on the planet, with a few career paths that can be utilized as a main income source, in short, do not underestimate the power of getting involved in the free market of Second Life, if could turn your income stream in the real world from your 40k USD per year to a healthy 60k per year if utilized correctly and a last thought from your Australian reporter. “None of this is possible with the consumer, is the every man buying shoes, commissioning a portrait, booking a band, renting land, tipping a stripper or buying a rare breed able cat.