Yesterday I received a group message in one of my subscribed SL-Learning groups. It was an educational institution (well, at least it looked like one) and they were searching for Researchers, Sales Managers, Musicians, a Personal Assistant and Teachers.
I was interested in the position as Personal Assistant, because I have two years of experience in SL and several years in teaching on the Internet and in real life classes. So I asked if it would make sense to apply for the job, because I am in the european time zone and they might be somewhere in the world that may not be suitable for intensive coaching.
The person responsible for the job applications told me that she will check my CV or my website. Later she told me that this position will be paid in Linden-Dollar and that I can expect a salary of 75 Linden-Dollar per hour. I thought she was teasing me, but it seems to be a real offer. That’s not even 20 US-cent per hour for a personal assistant.
I told her, that I’d rather do it for free instead of insulting myself taking peanuts for a qualified job. She told me that this would not be possible. “We do not allow people to work for free”. Ok, I know Lee Iacocca worked for Crysler for one Dollar per year, but is it really ethical to offer jobs in SL for a fee that is not much more than plain camping and expect real work to be done. And then insult people to say “We don’t allow people to work for free”?