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I've thought about this general approach for funding my own research. Unfortunately it seems hard to do in practice. If the goal is consulting specifically the

I've thought about this general approach for funding my own research. Unfortunately it seems hard to do in practice. If the goal is consulting specifically then it's going to take a while to build up the client base needed. I'm just starting consulting myself and I don't expect this to get me more than a couple thousand dollars over the next year. Generalizing a bit, one could make money running a business, consulting being a possible example. The problem with this is that starting a business is usually more than a full time job. This is only viable in the long-term once all the hard work is done, and only if the business gets off the ground. There are no guarantees. Another possibility is to work a more conventional job that offers reduced hours and still decent pay/benefits. I don't know of any such jobs and would welcome any recommendations.

ghaff 6y ago
I've known people who (typically) transitioned from being a full-time employee to part-time. Though at that point, they're usually classified as a contractor which tends to have implications for bonuses, RSUs, etc. I agree with your assessment of consulting. I'd add that, except under special conditions, you pretty much have to keep your hand in or you lose touch with current practices etc. Yes, there are people who are real experts in some specialty. They can semi-retire and "parachute in" for a week to solve some problem that no one else can. But that is, as I say, pretty much the definition of a special case.