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Might be a good idea to bring back the concept of the gentleman scientist, who are generally independently wealthy. Charles Darwin is one such scientist.

by kiba 3y ago

pvaldes 3y ago
It seems that we are getting short of people interested into paying with their own money for the privilege of solving other's people problems for free. Is very strange.
hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
Great, I think it'd be so much better if a qualification for scientist was "already rich".
- _dain_ 3y ago
  maybe, but it's a hell of a lot easier to get rich when you don't spend your 20s on a phd working for peanuts
linguae 3y ago
As a researcher who is seeking alternatives to the pressures of both academic and industrial research, one of the things I’m thinking about for my long-term career plan is to relocate to an area with a lower cost of living (bye Silicon Valley) and make an arrangement where I work part time for money (possibilities include being a contractor, doing freelance or consulting work, or starting a business that doesn’t require more than 20 hours per week to operate) and spend the other 20 hours a week on research. I’d love to be able to do research based on my own interests without having to worry about business or career concerns. I’ve come to realize that when one is paid to do research, the researcher is suddenly under pressure by the person or institution paying the researcher. “He who pays the piper calls the tune,” after all. But if I make a living through non-research tasks, then I’ll have research freedom. The tough part is coming up with a business idea that would allow this type of lifestyle; that’s where I’m currently at. If I could make $130,000 per year, heck, even $65,000, and live in an inexpensive part of America then I’d be fine, but the trick is figuring out how to make that much money in only 20 hours instead of 40.
- osigurdson 3y ago
  Why not live somewhere even cheaper? Do your research from a nice hut on the beach in Thailand for example.
- mnky9800n 3y ago
  What do you do research in?
  - linguae 3y ago
    I work in machine learning, and I also have interests in programming languages, operating systems, and databases.
- PeterisP 3y ago
  Working in research, I have observed that one can't do everything alone, so many things effectively need a team because specializations matter and some tasks simply need a decent quantity of mundane effort. So me living cheaply wouldn't be sufficient because I still need funding to pay all the other people involved.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

Might be a good idea to bring back the concept of the gentleman scientist, who are generally independently wealthy. Charles Darwin is one such scientist.

by kiba 3y ago

Might be a good idea to bring back the concept of the gentleman scientist, who are generally independently wealthy. Charles Darwin is one such scientist.

pvaldes 3y ago

It seems that we are getting short of people interested into paying with their own money for the privilege of solving other's people problems for free. Is very strange.

hn_throwaway_99 3y ago

Great, I think it'd be so much better if a qualification for scientist was "already rich".

_dain_ 3y ago
maybe, but it's a hell of a lot easier to get rich when you don't spend your 20s on a phd working for peanuts

linguae 3y ago

As a researcher who is seeking alternatives to the pressures of both academic and industrial research, one of the things I’m thinking about for my long-term career plan is to relocate to an area with a lower cost of living (bye Silicon Valley) and make an arrangement where I work part time for money (possibilities include being a contractor, doing freelance or consulting work, or starting a business that doesn’t require more than 20 hours per week to operate) and spend the other 20 hours a week on research. I’d love to be able to do research based on my own interests without having to worry about business or career concerns. I’ve come to realize that when one is paid to do research, the researcher is suddenly under pressure by the person or institution paying the researcher. “He who pays the piper calls the tune,” after all. But if I make a living through non-research tasks, then I’ll have research freedom. The tough part is coming up with a business idea that would allow this type of lifestyle; that’s where I’m currently at. If I could make $130,000 per year, heck, even $65,000, and live in an inexpensive part of America then I’d be fine, but the trick is figuring out how to make that much money in only 20 hours instead of 40.

osigurdson 3y ago
Why not live somewhere even cheaper? Do your research from a nice hut on the beach in Thailand for example.
mnky9800n 3y ago
What do you do research in?
- linguae 3y ago
  I work in machine learning, and I also have interests in programming languages, operating systems, and databases.
PeterisP 3y ago
Working in research, I have observed that one can't do everything alone, so many things effectively need a team because specializations matter and some tasks simply need a decent quantity of mundane effort. So me living cheaply wouldn't be sufficient because I still need funding to pay all the other people involved.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]