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rivkaThe official term for my kind of position is "contingent." The colloquial term is "soft money." Both of these terms mean the same thing: that as long as I (well, actually Lydia) can raise the money for my salary and benefits through grants, contracts, and clinical activity, I have a job.
There's nothing unusual about this in the world of research. It's not considered particularly demeaning, or a sign of low status - especially in medical schools and research institutes like this one. What it means, though, is that researchers are constantly on the scrounge. Constantly applying for grants and contracts, the more, the better - because some won't come through, and you need to have enough to cover salaries.
When Lydia decided that she wanted to keep me on here, she added my name to a whole bunch of grants and projects. Of course some of them were rejected - we'd expected that. But she got funded to study the effects of spiritual attitudes on HIV outcome, and there was a half-time slot for a postdoc there. And then we got the P.G. county clinical services contract, and there was plenty of money there. And the OB-GYN I'd worked with a bit got a tiny grant she'd applied for, although not the much larger one I'd essentially written for her. My position was covered, and I relaxed.
Then it was announced that the institute had gotten funding for a DOT study, and I found to my surprise that I was listed as project personnel. And today Lydia told me that another grant she'd helped with peripherally had been funded. "Are they paying you money, or goodwill?" I asked, idly flipping to the budget page. "Money." Sure enough, she was listed as a consultant. And so was... "Lydia, did you know that I'm on this grant?" "Oh, you are? I forgot we'd put you in there."
Let's pause to add up my funding:
Second-in-command for Lydia's study of spirituality and HIV: 50% time.
P.G. County clinical services: 40% time.
Study coordinator for OB-GYN Abnormal Pap Smear Follow-Up Project: 20% time.
"Behavioral medicine clinician" for DOT study: 25% time.
And now, apparently, "Data manager" for this study evaluating outcomes of prevention programs: 30% time.
I'm funded for 165% time.
I hasten to add that this will not mean that I get 165% of my base salary. The university has set my salary, and I can't get more than 100% of it. (Not sure what happens to the extra money - I should probably find out, hm?) All it means is that there are people out there who have the right to expect 165% of my work week.
Lydia: "Maybe it's time to think about hiring someone else."
Me: "Maybe it is!"
The problem is that Lydia's going to want to hire Lauren when she finishes her internship in June, and it's not clear that there will be funding for an extra person and Lauren. So we may just have to see if we can muddle through until July 1. Some of the %time figures are probably inflated: when we wrote the grants we were trying to cover salaries, not necessarily provide a perfecly accurate estimate of how many hours a work were needed. But I still think I'm going to wind up being an unnaturally busy woman. My days of posting to LJ from work may well be numbered.
165% time. Jesus Christ.
There's nothing unusual about this in the world of research. It's not considered particularly demeaning, or a sign of low status - especially in medical schools and research institutes like this one. What it means, though, is that researchers are constantly on the scrounge. Constantly applying for grants and contracts, the more, the better - because some won't come through, and you need to have enough to cover salaries.
When Lydia decided that she wanted to keep me on here, she added my name to a whole bunch of grants and projects. Of course some of them were rejected - we'd expected that. But she got funded to study the effects of spiritual attitudes on HIV outcome, and there was a half-time slot for a postdoc there. And then we got the P.G. county clinical services contract, and there was plenty of money there. And the OB-GYN I'd worked with a bit got a tiny grant she'd applied for, although not the much larger one I'd essentially written for her. My position was covered, and I relaxed.
Then it was announced that the institute had gotten funding for a DOT study, and I found to my surprise that I was listed as project personnel. And today Lydia told me that another grant she'd helped with peripherally had been funded. "Are they paying you money, or goodwill?" I asked, idly flipping to the budget page. "Money." Sure enough, she was listed as a consultant. And so was... "Lydia, did you know that I'm on this grant?" "Oh, you are? I forgot we'd put you in there."
Let's pause to add up my funding:
Second-in-command for Lydia's study of spirituality and HIV: 50% time.
P.G. County clinical services: 40% time.
Study coordinator for OB-GYN Abnormal Pap Smear Follow-Up Project: 20% time.
"Behavioral medicine clinician" for DOT study: 25% time.
And now, apparently, "Data manager" for this study evaluating outcomes of prevention programs: 30% time.
I'm funded for 165% time.
I hasten to add that this will not mean that I get 165% of my base salary. The university has set my salary, and I can't get more than 100% of it. (Not sure what happens to the extra money - I should probably find out, hm?) All it means is that there are people out there who have the right to expect 165% of my work week.
Lydia: "Maybe it's time to think about hiring someone else."
Me: "Maybe it is!"
The problem is that Lydia's going to want to hire Lauren when she finishes her internship in June, and it's not clear that there will be funding for an extra person and Lauren. So we may just have to see if we can muddle through until July 1. Some of the %time figures are probably inflated: when we wrote the grants we were trying to cover salaries, not necessarily provide a perfecly accurate estimate of how many hours a work were needed. But I still think I'm going to wind up being an unnaturally busy woman. My days of posting to LJ from work may well be numbered.
165% time. Jesus Christ.
