Subject: Re: Moving expenses for PDF
From: Big G
Date: Sun, 15 Dec 1996 01:37:25 -0500
fethi bellamine wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> For those who know or did their postdoctoral studies, I wonder
> if it is O.K. to ask the department to ask to pay for my moving
> expenses given that the university is over 2,000 miles from my
> current place. Do departments usually pay the bill? or since
> it is only a postdoctoral position, then they usually don't.
> Thanks for the feedback.
Well, since a post-doc is not real work, why would you expect any department
to shell out moving expenses for a pipe dream?
-G
Subject: Re: consulting as a career
From: cummings@helix.mgh.harvard.edu (Brian J. Cummings, PhD)
Date: 15 Dec 1996 00:21:35 GMT
> > We don't hear much from people with
> > consulting oriented careers, and I wonder if anyone has something to
> > say about this as a career. IMNSHO, it seems that the economy is
> > veering more and more towards consulting versus tenured employment.
> > For my part, I think this is great, as it offers both companies and
> > employees more freedom. With increasing facility of communcation, we
> > have a near term possibility of a virtual workforce.
> >
Hi Mark, Art, and everyone else at SRC.
My system has been down for a while (comp. sci. is NOT one of Harvard's
strong points- come to think of it I don't think they have any strong
points besides their undeserved reputation), so I haven't even been
lurking here for a long time. Just got things "working" again in time to
see Mark's post. Since I have been consulting on the side while working
in a soft-money position for the last year at Harvard Med School, I
thought I'd put in my $1.02 worth
- the extra dollar is my consulting fee :)
I was contacted by a local Cambridge Biotech company after they saw some
of my posts on the bionet.neuroscience.amyloid group. They asked me to
come down to their place and give a lecture. I thought this would be just
your typical "give a talk about what you do" / "self-promotion" tour /
"please site my papers now that you've heard about them" type of visit. I
was not looking to become a paid consultant. After my 1 hour talk and a
nice lunch, they handed me a check for $200 as a speakers fee. Was I
surprized. The details of my talk (on a canine model of Alzheimer's
disease) were interesting to the company, but they were certainly NOT
going to start a canine research program based on my talk. However, thru
"networking" with several of the scientists in the group over the next few
weeks, it was clear that a number of people there got along well with me.
They later contacted me for my advice on histology and other animal model
issues and asked if I wanted to become a consultant. I naively asked them
what the going rate was (since I'm not a cut-throat kind of guy and hadn't
a clue as to the average rate). I accepted their offer of $100 per hour
for any work I did in my own lab and/or $1000 per day if I drove over to
their company. There was also talk of setting up a contract guarenteeing
me 4 full days per year (which we never really got around to finalizing)
and I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement with regards to their
chemical compound.
Since then, I've been working about 10 hours/month with/for them. Some of
the time is for doing experiements in my lab which they can't do (i.e.
this may be difficult if you're trying to consult out of your own home),
other hours are for my going to their company to sit in on lab meetings
and argue/give advice, or to train their personel in histology, animal
surgery and microscopy. Additional hours are for literature searching
specialized info for them; spending extra time at a conference to look for
info I think they might be interested in; or contacting
peers/collaborators in the field and solicitating information for the
company. Many of these kinds of things could be done whether you have
your own lab or not.
My situation with them is very informal, partly because I prefer it that
way and partly because they are open to that type of relationship. I know
of others who consult who are much more tightly controlled. I would
suggest that the more concerned you are with a "regular" income, the more
you would wnat to lean towards firmer contracts which can guarentee you a
minimum number of hours/month. Currently, this is not an issue for me.
A side benefit of consulting (in addition to the money) is the possibility
of future employment. This would be even greater if one pursued consulting
which multiple companies. In these times of pitiful employment, a good
way to land a job is via contacts. The more people/companies you consult
for the greater your number of connnections. I am in a tenuous situation
here at Harvard on soft money (McLean hospital is in debt and will likely
not pick me up should my next grant not get funded). I recently contacted
my friends whom I consult for and was immediately promised up to
30hrs/week if I need it; even though there is currently a hiring freeze
there on new people, they consider paying part-time people as a good work
around. This would certainly not be the case unless they had hard the
time to get to know me and my capabilities.
Summary:
Depending on how one "sells" or promotes oneself, there are a number of
science consulting tasks that the average under-employed science type
could pursue.
Consulting need not be for the exact topic your thesis was on; you need to
be creative about the kinds of things you can do which are useful to a
company who doesn't want to "waste" benefit costs on another employee.
In BioTech, the going rates for a consultant are between $50 and $200 per
hour. Most people I know are making $125. (Maybe I should have asked for
more?)
If the company asks for a contract which prohibits you from consulting
elsewhere, it is typical to get greater than $125/hr and/or a have a
specified minimum number of total hours they they will agree to pay you
for up front.
One could consult full time or part time as a career and survive, with no
real pension plan, no health benefits, no tenure possibilites, and no
guarentee of future employment. Gee, this sounds just like post-doc'ing
in any acedemic situation !
Perhaps I'll actually attempt to directly answer Marc's specific questions
in a follow-up post. e.g. I DO think it is "techinically" unethical for
companies to shift towards consultants in leu of a "tenured" work force,
but in practical terms this a a complex issue - several of my friends in
BioTech are no their 3rd or 4th compnay already but their salary continues
to climb with the experience.
Hope my little story here answers someones questions. I'd be glad to go
into further details if asked.
Take care
____________________________________________________________________
Brian J. Cummings, Ph.D. The Prophet, Gibran, On Children:
Harvard Medical School "You may give them your love, but not your
Instructor in Neurosci., thoughts. They have their own thoughts."
McLean Hospital,
115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02178
(617) 855-3251 Office cummings@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
(617) 855-3198 Fax
"Intel Inside" - The world's most widely used warning label
_____________________________________________________________
Subject: SAS/Statistical Pharmaceutical Jobs in PA/NJ/DE
From: Loren King
Date: 15 Dec 1996 04:43:54 -0800
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
Code: 1635/SAS/1216
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