That after working 3 years for free, I am not going to work unless I am paid.
My guess is that he thinks he’s have been doing you a favor by giving you a place to stay busy until another lily pad floats your way. So if you go to him and say “money or else”, he will probably just open the door for you and wish you good luck.
An admirable person wouldn’t accept free labor for years unless the labor was unsolicited or just not that valuable. Maybe your advisor is not admirable? Either way, good for you for finally realizing you aren’t a slave. Get out and bring home a paycheck.
My parents insist I stay with him and they are giving me an allowance $350/month. But I just do not want to be wasting my time anymore.
By 1996 I already hated mathematics with passion.
I’d tell him you will have to be leaving in x number of days/weeks, because at this point, you need to find a paying job to support yourself. If he offers you a paid position, great. If not, go look for something else.
I think you ought to polish up your resume, and start actually looking for work first, before you say anything to anyone at the place you’re at now. Once you get some successful feelers out, then a more tactful approach would be to come at it from the angle of asking for advice and mentorship as you job-hunt.
What I would do is ask if you can have coffee one morning with said advisor, and regretfully (whether true or not) inform them that your financial situation is such that you need to begin actually earning an income. Let them know that you’re looking, and that you have some nibbles (I wouldn’t go so far as to talk to them about this unless I actually DID have some nibbles - experience without pay is still better than having to list time on your resume spent at home doing nothing.
Shower said advisor with thanks and praise for giving you such valuable experience over the past years, and ask their advice as to where else to apply, what to ask for/look for/watch out for. Ask whether they would be willing to act as a reference, whether they had advice on tweaking your resume, etc.
At this point, if they want you, and are able to pay for you, this is the time they would speak up and say something along the lines of “let me check with the budget people and see what we can work out. I’d hate to see you go.” If not (whether because they cannot afford it, or don’t think you’re employee material, or they have a policy of not hiring interns to avoid getting people’s hopes up), you’ll hear something more like “We’ll miss you - but I can see if I know any contacts in other companies to point you towards.”
I seriously wouldn’t start down that road until/unless you had your ducks all lined up to find a new job. Interns are free and easy to find, and once they KNOW you’re needing money, they have every incentive to just send you on home and get someone new on the string that they can depend on for 3 more years, instead of worrying when your last day will be before someone snatches you up.
Good luck!
Thanks. I would be much more interested in going BACK 2 COLLEGE and do something I really like. Like journalism? I already have a youtube account and 15 videos.
Ignore my previous advice - this is a much better and more thought-out plan!
Wait, what? YouTube ≠ journalism. Not by a long shot.
Not to mention that going back to college is the opposite of a paying job, so that’s not really the best plan, either.
It’s a humble beginning.
But at least I can go into a creative and interesting career dealing with social issues. Or am I bound to do math or be poor?
The OP has a PhD in mathematics, hates math, and apparently just has no idea how the world works. A previous thread.
Hopefully, I can get some help. This is really my situation.
Had I been trolling I would have found a more exciting story.
Wow.
The internship programs at our school are mandatory - but are 4-5 weeks, tops. And even that limits the number of hours worked per week. Period.
That is not an internship - that is called slave labor and probably illegal in some form or fashion.
Get the hell out of there and find a real job. Why would you waste your time and energy on a non-paying job when you should be out there looking for even a low-paying entry-level position?
Geez - even kids who work for their parents’ business usually get an allowance and mom cooks and does their laundry. Sticking around there is just stupid.
I do get an allowance ($350/month) and support from my parents – they really want me to be working in that position. Like they wanted me to finish PhD in math. But how much of my life can I waste? At over 40 years of age.
PS. My situatuation is not that rare.
I have never heard of someone that age working for free and getting a pittance from their parents to stay there. Ever.
Unless you live in North Korea and there are absolutely no other jobs or you work for a regime, this makes no sense whatsoever. How much more “experience” do you need?
I know people who get more in unemployment that you earn and I think the manager at McDonalds probably earns 5 times what you earn.
Go mow lawns, or walk dogs, or tutor kids…anything. I cannot think of one compelling reason to stay in a job like this if there are no other job possibilities. Even VCR repairmen eventually saw the light and walked away from dead-end careers.
You’ll probably be really poor if you try to get into journalism. They don’t even have decent newspaper jobs left as a “starter job” in most cases.
Thanks. It would have ****ed to learn that after getting a degree in journalism. I’ll continue writing/yuotubing as a hobby.
$350/month for spending PLUS living space, food, medical bills. Not that bad.
But how long can it last?