Is it unusual to be offered an academic job without pay?

Question

I have been applying for academic jobs which are admittedly a bit out of my league. I have a Bachelor degree from an elite (ie world top ~3, depending on ranking) university. My course had an interruption in it, which I spent working for an academic institution (and I got paid).

I have been finding academic jobs in the past by emailing professors if I can work for them. Most of the time the answer was no, but there were always at least 1 person who would give me a job in the past, when I was looking for one. I think this is probably because I was lucky enough to be enrolled to an elite university (yes, I think that is at least 90% luck, but that's another topic).

I know that people who work for research instituions have usually higher qualifications than only a Bachelor. However, when I was given a job, I was always paid.

Recently, I have encountered a new situation: the people I applied to were keen on giving me tasks, and they seemed to think I am qualified to do it, but they didn't think they need to pay me. They thought they are mentoring me maybe, or something like that. Ie their idea of my participation was that I work under their guidance: I get their guidance & the possibility to contribute to research papers, they get code I write.

While this would be perfectly ok for me if I was rich, I cannot afford to have a job which does not pay. (I don't mind if it pays badly, I am not looking for an extravagant lifestyle, but I do want to keep a roof over my head.)

Previously, I thought that this goes without saying: if you don't think I can do a good enough job for me to be paid, then just don't hire me. If I do work, I get paid.

Is this approach too arrogant? Is it normal for slightly underqualified people to be working for academic insitutions without being paid?

Answer 1

No it would be illegal for them to hire you to work and not pay you regardless of your qualifications or the work you are doing.

But given your level of qualifications there may be some confusion with the people your contacting, who may think you are asking for a research project as part of your degree. Thus they are assuming you are already being paid by whatever funding model your country uses for degrees, so they don't need to pay you further. You, perhaps, need to make it clear to them what your are looking for is not a research project for your degree but instead an actual job.

That said you may find it hard to get an actual job, as they will have a large pool of people who will do the work for free (as part of their bachelors or masters degrees).

Answer 2

It is very likely a communication problem as Rob suggested.

If it is a full-time job, you should get paid. You will also have tasks that do not benefit you at all. Usually these jobs are advertised so if you made contact, this may not be the first thing the professors you contact think of, therefore you should clarify from the start that you are looking for this type of work.

It is also common, especially if you contact the professors and do not apply for an advertised RA job, that they offer you affiliation and a project but you work as much or as little as you want and only on your own project, and it is unpaid. Mostly students choose this option who want better chances to apply for PhD positions or who want to do their thesis project.

Our group has both kinds of research assistants. It is always discussed before they join the group what they want and what we can offer so there are no misunderstandings.

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Edit: added very likely to first sentence.

Answer 3

Whether student work is paid or unpaid generally depends on the type of work and the rewards it gives to the student. It is not particularly unusual for academics to offer to do joint research projects with students where the only consideration offered to the student is experience/credit on the project. In some cases the student contribution might be sufficient for co-authorship or acknowledgment in a paper, and for lesser contributions it might just give the student some experience and a useful academic reference. Unless the contrary has been agreed, this is not so much "hiring you for work" as it is "offering to let you participate in a research project".

Academics usually have plenty of students willing to work with them for free (including PhD candidates with more experience than it sounds like you have) so cases where the student is unpaid are common. Indeed, some students may wish to participate in a research project as a way to get experience to apply for a PhD candidacy or a paid research position, particularly if they are able to get co-authorship on a paper. Within employment law, such arrangements are often considered to be a type of "volunteer work", or "vocational placement", or an informal "joint venture", rather than an employer/employee relationship. (Contrary to another answer here, failure to make payment for work of this kind is usually not illegal, so long as it meets the requirements that put it outside the scope of an employer/employee relationship.)

There is nothing wrong (or arrogant) with you wanting only paid employment, but because unpaid work in this area is common you should be up-front about your desire for paid positions when you email academic researchers about work of this kind. From a practical perspective, it is also worth asking yourself whether you will get any success seeking paid employment of this kind ---i.e., are you easily replaceable by an unpaid volunteer with the same skills. Given your (relatively) low qualifications you will probably find that there are other students with the same or better qualifications willing to work for free on research projects. Still, if the academic in question considers your work sufficiently good you might be offered a paid position.