Research Employment Opportunities
Between widespread precarious employment and ongoing redundancies at our universities, many people are looking for ways to earn a living outside the public research sector. They often have questions like: Which would be best for me, starting my own company or finding a place in an existing one? How do I describe my skill set in ways that communicate the value I bring? Are there opportunities to work for clients internationally? What do I need to consider when starting a business? How might I evaluate options around appropriate legal, accounting, IT and other services? Where can I get trusted and relevant advice?
Eight years ago, I was in this position. I left what was, for me, a terribly toxic work environment. We needed to stay in Aotearoa for family reasons and had to find a way to make it work. Every person's situation is different. I tried consulting for the first year, made almost nothing, and learned some hard lessons. The second year, my partner and I set up a small lab and offered a genetic analysis service. It started slowly, but built over time so that we are making a good living for our family. There are many details around how we do this which I will set aside for brevity.
In the time since we started our business, I have met many others who have established research business or are just starting on the journey. Each case is different. Everyone has a story about their own path. There is much we can (and do) learn from each other. Opportunities for collaboration and kind sharing abound.
One facet of the plan for this community site is for people to be able to find one another here and share their experiences with each other. A bit of mutual mentoring can be helpful, fun, and rewarding. Along the same lines, this site will be a place to find people with the skill sets you or your organisation needs to do a piece of research. With that in mind, if you have a business, we encourage you to make an organisation profile to tell everyone about it. If you are unsure how to do that, just ask and I'll help you. You may know other people who have research businesses. Please invite them to join the site and make a profile. A bit further down the track, we will start a space dedicated to sharing know how and experience in setting up research businesses.
In the meantime, people might need a faster way to connect to employment opportunities. This morning a tweet about a research gig site hit my timeline. This is not an endorsement of the service, as I have not used it and it is very new. Your mileage may vary.
If you have any thoughts or suggestions about research employment opportunities or other things related to this post, please put them in the comments.
