5 ms·

As a soon-to-be PhD graduate, I'm perversely curious as to how much these clandestine chemistry jobs actually pay . . .

passwordoops 4y ago
A start-up offer from a loose acquaintance came my way 2006-ish and it was quite lucrative. But seeing what happened to the dude long-term proved to me the power and importance of "No"
- api 4y ago
  Many years ago in college I was offered a job doing IT and infosec/opsec for an interesting group of people. Turned it down for many reasons including not wanting to live in constant paranoia, but it was suggested that the pay would be excellent.
- cjbgkagh 4y ago
  Reminds me of the bit on Clerks about contractors passing on dangerous jobs with the second Death Star as an example.
h2odragon 4y ago
the pay can be quite good; but don't go bringing any other concerns to the HR department.
- fisherjeff 4y ago
  I believe the severance packages also tend to be pretty bad
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - MengerSponge 4y ago
    "Take whatever you want, I-I have money, I have a lot of money. I have... um... Please, don't do this. You don't- You... Y-You don't have to do this..."
  - bell-cot 4y ago
    Plus issues with what to put on your resume, and getting references.
- api 4y ago
  I’m guessing the hells angels do not have a diversity policy or a policy on harassment?
  - cjbgkagh 4y ago
    I’m pretty sure the Hells Angels have a policy on harassment, you could say it’s almost a job requirement.
  - kevinmchugh 4y ago
    They have a two letter diversity policy: "No".
hotpotamus 4y ago
Ever watch Breaking Bad?
liveoneggs 4y ago
Pay is great but the non-compete is a little aggressive. Don't bring up the NDA as it's even worse.
starkd 4y ago
I suspect that once you start working in the field, there's no walking away. You will be a slave scientist. The cartls won't let you walk away from it.
photochemsyn 4y ago
Making opiates for the Sackler family with the blessing of the US government for distribution to addicts via 'pain clinics' probably pays about the same as making opiates for the Guzman cartel down in Mexico for transport over the border into the US for distribution to addicts on street corners. In both cases you probably want to keep paying your taxes, however. In the latter case you'll need some cover story to explain where you got the money from. Really the drug situation in the USA is pretty farcical. You can manufacture amphetamines and opiates at scale for the ADHD/chronic pain market, with relatively few restrictions, but the prisons are full of people involved in the clandestine trade in the very same substances.
fuzzfactor 4y ago
Well before you earn your PhD I would expect you to be able to make other types of chemicals which are not illegal, even though they may be equally as toxic and only about 10X less profitable. But you could sell more than 10X as many kilos of legitimate materials and not be limited to only a clandestine supply chain, so the financial upside alone is way better by comparison. Criminal organizations are limited to the clandestine activities and prefer them anyway, you've got to figure they're making lots more money per kilo, but sometimes I would think they might only be coming out ahead by not paying any taxes. I do think they spend a lot of money on "insurance" but it's not going to legitimate insurance companies either. As a professional you'll never need to stoop that low, and they'll never be able to reach as high as your actual baseline.

A start-up offer from a loose acquaintance came my way 2006-ish and it was quite lucrative. But seeing what happened to the dude long-term proved to me the power and importance of "No"

api 4y ago
Many years ago in college I was offered a job doing IT and infosec/opsec for an interesting group of people. Turned it down for many reasons including not wanting to live in constant paranoia, but it was suggested that the pay would be excellent.
cjbgkagh 4y ago
Reminds me of the bit on Clerks about contractors passing on dangerous jobs with the second Death Star as an example.

h2odragon 4y ago

the pay can be quite good; but don't go bringing any other concerns to the HR department.

fisherjeff 4y ago
I believe the severance packages also tend to be pretty bad
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- MengerSponge 4y ago
  "Take whatever you want, I-I have money, I have a lot of money. I have... um... Please, don't do this. You don't- You... Y-You don't have to do this..."
- bell-cot 4y ago
  Plus issues with what to put on your resume, and getting references.
api 4y ago
I’m guessing the hells angels do not have a diversity policy or a policy on harassment?
- cjbgkagh 4y ago
  I’m pretty sure the Hells Angels have a policy on harassment, you could say it’s almost a job requirement.
- kevinmchugh 4y ago
  They have a two letter diversity policy: "No".

hotpotamus 4y ago

Ever watch Breaking Bad?

liveoneggs 4y ago

Pay is great but the non-compete is a little aggressive. Don't bring up the NDA as it's even worse.

starkd 4y ago

I suspect that once you start working in the field, there's no walking away. You will be a slave scientist. The cartls won't let you walk away from it.

photochemsyn 4y ago

Making opiates for the Sackler family with the blessing of the US government for distribution to addicts via 'pain clinics' probably pays about the same as making opiates for the Guzman cartel down in Mexico for transport over the border into the US for distribution to addicts on street corners. In both cases you probably want to keep paying your taxes, however. In the latter case you'll need some cover story to explain where you got the money from. Really the drug situation in the USA is pretty farcical. You can manufacture amphetamines and opiates at scale for the ADHD/chronic pain market, with relatively few restrictions, but the prisons are full of people involved in the clandestine trade in the very same substances.

fuzzfactor 4y ago

Well before you earn your PhD I would expect you to be able to make other types of chemicals which are not illegal, even though they may be equally as toxic and only about 10X less profitable. But you could sell more than 10X as many kilos of legitimate materials and not be limited to only a clandestine supply chain, so the financial upside alone is way better by comparison. Criminal organizations are limited to the clandestine activities and prefer them anyway, you've got to figure they're making lots more money per kilo, but sometimes I would think they might only be coming out ahead by not paying any taxes. I do think they spend a lot of money on "insurance" but it's not going to legitimate insurance companies either. As a professional you'll never need to stoop that low, and they'll never be able to reach as high as your actual baseline.