> Because I still want to pursue a career in research even if traditional opportunities dry up, I am interested in alternative funding models that will ensure t

> Because I still want to pursue a career in research even if traditional opportunities dry up, I am interested in alternative funding models that will ensure that researchers could still make a living in a world that demands instant results. I too am interested in alternative funding models for research. I've looked at the teaching faculty jobs you mentioned, but there aren't too many of them in my field as-is, so I don't consider those to be a good option for most. The model I'm currently looking at uses ideas from the financial independence/early retirement community. Basically, I'll do research independently and live as cheaply as possible so that what money I do get goes farther. (It helps that grad school has made me live very cheaply already...) I don't require expensive equipment to do my research, so I think this is doable. As for how to make money, I'm looking at multiple options including working a full time job for a while to build capital, starting a small business, grants, getting money from patrons, etc. While adjunct pay isn't good, working as an adjunct every once in a while might not be a bad idea to find new collaborators and get library access. I'm also told that the UT Austin engineering schools pays about $10K per class for an adjunct, which again, isn't fantastic, but would actually cover about half of my estimated yearly costs. Ultimately I think I can spend much less time raising funds than tenured professors do, which I've seen estimated at around 40% of their time! https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2011/04/25/chasing-grants/ https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2011/04/25/chasing-grants/ For starting a small business, I'd expect many to require a lot of time up front, but I'm willing to do that if it means that longer-term I can make reliable income with minimal investment on my part. I'm starting with consulting, which I don't expect will be a huge source of income for me, but I'll take what I can get. Ultimately I'll probably have to have multiple income sources, which isn't entirely bad. If any one source dries up then I shouldn't be much worse off. This seems to be the largest online meeting place for independent researchers: https://forum.igdore.org/ https://forum.igdore.org/