Peter Flom is a statistical consultant I know, who has worked with graduate students and researchers in the social sciences, education, medicine and other fields. He earned his PhD in psychometrics from Fordham University in 1999, and has been first author and co-author on numerous publications. He has also assisted in grant writing and dissertation preparation. He is based in New York City, but also works remotely.
How does one normally get a consulting gig? Especially if you don't want your advisor to find out? Are there headhunters for this sort of thing? Or do companies typically advertise somewhere on some job board?
First off, if you're one of _my_ postdocs, I don't want you consulting!
For a longer answer, I should really post a full entry on the blog. My short answer is that my own consulting jobs come through word of mouth. I have no idea how much business Peter Flom will get from this blog posting.
Well, I guess the economy is doing things to statisticians too….
Yup. I think we're still valuable, though!
? why is it ok for faculty to consult but not for postdocs who are faculty-bound?
It's ok for postdocs to consult. I just don't want _my_ postdocs to consult; I'd rather have them work on important research problems. I don't think it's immoral or unprofessional of them to consult. Similarly, if I could choose between my postdoc working more on statistics or working on his or her remote-controlled airplane-building hobby, I'd prefer that the postdoc do statistics.
How much should one charge for consulting? I assume one charges by the hour? And I presume this depends on if you are undergrad, grad, postdoc, assistant/assoc/full prof, etc?