Independent Academic
by Josh MitteldorfLink to article
The only jobs I’m suited for are in academia. Right out of grad school, I applied for an entry level, tenure track job, and found out later there had been 600 people applying. The guy who was hired was a senior researcher with 25 years experience who wanted to switch to a teaching institution. I never even got an acknowledgment for my application.
Since then, I’ve lived on family money while pursuing scientific research as an “independent academic.” There are big advantages as well as disadvantages to working this way, (for those lucky enough to afford it). In my “spare time” I’m an activist, educating the public about the fact that the last three Federal elections were stolen by Republicans, and advocating for reform in the way our votes are counted.