My summer will be filled with exactly the same things my school year is (herding students along to enlightenment, reading, and research), minus pesky seminars, but for the younger generation, gainful summer employment is getting harder to come by. One solution? Turning to virtual worlds for employment:
In the real world, summer jobs are in short supply. Only about a third of teenagers are expected to work this summer, the lowest levels in 60 years, according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. Summer youth employment has fallen from about 45% of teens in 2000, a downward trend made worse this year by the faltering economy.
But money-making opportunities in virtual worlds have grown as such sites go mainstream.
The WSJ piece also has a look at seven high school and college students who have been making virtual worlds — what they do and how much they make.
My Virtual Summer Job [The Wall Street Journal via Virtual Worlds News]