Hello again, internet. I just finished writing the last thing I had to write for my assistantship. I’m taking a break and not hustling hustling for the next month or so. But I am planning to launch as an independent researcher and consultant in mid-June, and in case anyone else is interested in what that life is like, I thought I’d share some of my prospective work.
I really appreciate transparency such as when Dr. Katie Linder and Dr. Sara Langworthy talk about their income streams on the Make Your Way podcast, Dr. Katie Rose Guest Pryal talks about hers in her book The Freelance Academic, and Dr. Kelly J. Baker talks about hers on her blog. Because I haven’t launched yet, I can’t tell you how much money I’m making. But I can tell you what kind of clients I’m courting.
Here are some possibilities I have in the works:
- doing some curatorial work for my blogging host platform
- working with a small start-up to promote qualitative research and qualitative data analysis software
- editing theses and dissertations either through my own networking or as part of another organization’s network (both, if I can swing it)
- writing curriculum materials for Open Educational Resources
- working as an independent researcher again through both my own networking and as an affiliate of a consulting company
In addition to whatever paid work I get, I have a dream of also continuing to do my own research and maybe doing some creative writing (either creative non-fiction or YA fantasy), but we’ll see how much time and energy I have.
