Hey Winston, thanks for writing this out. This is something we talked a lot about internally. Here are a few thoughts:
Comparisons: At 35k a year, it seems it might be considerably lower than industry equivalent even when compared to other programs
I think the more relevant comparison is academia, not industry. In academia, $35k is (unfortunately) well within in the normal range for RAs and PhD students. This is especially true outside the US, where wages are easily 2x − 4x lower.
Often academics justify this on the grounds that you’re receiving more than just monetary benefits: you’re receiving mentorship and training. We think the same will be true for these positions.
The actual reason is that you have to be somewhat crazy to even want to go into research. We’re looking for somewhat crazy.
If I were applying to this, I’d feel confused and slightly underappreciated if I had the right set of ML/Software Engineering skills but to be barely paid subsistence level for my full-time work (in NY).
If it helps, we’re paying ourselves even less. As much as we’d like to pay the RAs (and ourselves) more, we have to work with what we have.
Of course… money is tight: The grant constraint is well acknowledged here. But potentially the number of RAs expected to hire can be further down adjusted as while potentially increasing the submission rate of the candidates that truly fits the requirement of the research program.
For exceptional talent, we’re willing to pay higher wages.
The important thing is that both funding and open positions are exceptionally scarce. We expect there to be enough strong candidates who are willing to take the pay cut.
All in all, we’re expecting most of our hires to come from outside the US where the cost of living is substantially lower. If lower wages are a deal-breaker for anyone but you’re still interested in this kind of work, please flag this in the form. The application should be low-effort enough that it’s still worth applying.
Often academics justify this on the grounds that you’re receiving more than just monetary benefits: you’re receiving mentorship and training. We think the same will be true for these positions.
I don’t buy this. I’m actually going through the process of getting a PhD at ~40k USD per year, and one of the main reasons why I’m sticking with it is that after that, I have a solid credential that’s recognized worldwide, backed by a recognizable name (i.e. my university and my supervisor). You can’t provide either of those things.
This offer seems to take the worst of both worlds between academia and industry, but if you actually find someone good at this rate, good for you I suppose
Hey Winston, thanks for writing this out. This is something we talked a lot about internally. Here are a few thoughts:
I think the more relevant comparison is academia, not industry. In academia, $35k is (unfortunately) well within in the normal range for RAs and PhD students. This is especially true outside the US, where wages are easily 2x − 4x lower.
Often academics justify this on the grounds that you’re receiving more than just monetary benefits: you’re receiving mentorship and training. We think the same will be true for these positions.
The actual reason is that you have to be somewhat crazy to even want to go into research. We’re looking for somewhat crazy.
If it helps, we’re paying ourselves even less. As much as we’d like to pay the RAs (and ourselves) more, we have to work with what we have.
For exceptional talent, we’re willing to pay higher wages.
The important thing is that both funding and open positions are exceptionally scarce. We expect there to be enough strong candidates who are willing to take the pay cut.
All in all, we’re expecting most of our hires to come from outside the US where the cost of living is substantially lower. If lower wages are a deal-breaker for anyone but you’re still interested in this kind of work, please flag this in the form. The application should be low-effort enough that it’s still worth applying.
I don’t buy this. I’m actually going through the process of getting a PhD at ~40k USD per year, and one of the main reasons why I’m sticking with it is that after that, I have a solid credential that’s recognized worldwide, backed by a recognizable name (i.e. my university and my supervisor). You can’t provide either of those things.
This offer seems to take the worst of both worlds between academia and industry, but if you actually find someone good at this rate, good for you I suppose