I was thinking. Are there unemployed people with science degrees out there. Or science grads that are employed but not within science? Do you think if given the opportunity they would do pay per piece tasks for academics?

Yes there's plenty of unemployed with degrees and plenty employed not within science - in fact, the majority.

I've no idea whether they would do pay per piece tasks. I expect most people want a stable job.

Some employers are hiring people with science degrees, but some science grads are suffering as well. Maybe not as much as some other fields, but basic research funding has been dropping as of late. Many Masters of science have difficulties finding jobs, and when they do, they are often paid below what they are worth.

Let's not even get into Ph.D.s who are willing to competing for Masters level jobs.

Science is not the occupation that will save everyone; it usually creates a hiring pool of excellent people and that only benefits the employer. If everyone shuffles to one field, then that field will be devalued as they shuffle to another.

Do you want to stay in the field of your study? You can always get job in other sectors with a science degree and keep trying to get work in your subject area.

I haven't moved far from my original degree and am now doing a science PhD. I'd be interested in taking on some pay per piece work, I've already done a bit for my university. I think it's a great way to boost my income a little bit while I'm studying

Scientists are traditionally known to belong to laboratories and research centers. Their lives revolve around research, experiments, reports, and lots of complicated stuff. It is quite demanding being a scientist of any kind, but one misconception that has to be quashed is that the job requires the scientist’s physical presence.

Science-based professionals are no longer confined to laboratories. You can earn a lot by working as a freelance scientist.

How do you do lab work without being physically present? Is there some new scientific discovery I'm not aware of?

No, I'm not aware of any but I do have some knowledge. You can join a group that shares the same interest and go through the same challenges. Also, There aren't that many scientists in the world, and you can easily penetrate the market if your services are carefully packaged and professionally marketed. You can also limit your skills area to only chemistry, engineering or physics. his way, you will be able to attract specific clientele over time and build a reputation as an authority in the field.

Hmm, ok. I don't think you have any idea what you're talking about.

Hi, Qzaman91,

There are unfortunately many science graduates who are unemployed or working in areas that are far below their level of education. I personally know PhD graduates, great ppl, but working as casual workers at factories and volunteers. There are science grads who are working in non-academic roles, but the chances of finding employment like that is highest when you just graduated from your first degree. You can still transition after you received your PhD, but that normally takes a bit more effort as unfortunately there are assumptions that PhD holders are harder to train and work along with (not necessarily true, but there are a few bad apples out there who ruin it for the many genuine ppl).

What sort of tasks are you referring to? Most tasks for academics requires significant input eg. supervising students, writing papers, writing grants, giving presentations at conferences, etc. It is hard to put monetary value per task. Would the person be paid per hour for doing the task including preparation? I am unsure how fair or feasible paying per piece of task is for academics, especially as a long term career.

emmawood - Which group are you referring to? I have never heard of such a group where you can join to be a freelance scientist. I understand that you can work as a bioinformatician or data scientist at home, but you still will have to visit the uni regularly to get the data and discuss the analysed results. You certainly cannot do your research experiments outside of the lab because 1) it is dangerous with some chemicals and 2) working in a non-controlled non-sterile environment produces inaccurate data. And your quote "There aren't that many scientists in the world" is unfortunately inaccurate. If we have so many in US alone ( https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2016/05/31/how-many-researchers/) think about the number globally.

This post fails the Turing test for me I'm afraid.

This is true and in fact there are a number of startups moving into the area of connecting freelance scientists with companies that need the help of an expert e.g. www.kolabtree.com. Many of them can work remotely.

Yeah, I had a sneaky feeling that this is where the original poster was heading with this topic. I have seen this done with software programming.

The problem is one of credibility. Look at the jobs listed, the amount of money paid and the duration. For example, 2 weeks work for $75 in one case and in another 2 months work for $400. No credible scientist is going to work for that amount unless it is an academic researcher who has a paid student already working for them who they can chuck the work at.