Ask HN: Highly technical and want to continue in research, but how?
I recently received a large raise which makes securing funding a bit difficult. My grant money doesn't go as far which means I dont have as much time to spend on each problem. Essentially, I must find another grant to keep myself funded. I hate this.
I have asked HR to lower my salary but they refused. They said I can charge overhead if I am short on money but I think this is a bad long-term solution especially as layoffs are in swing.
It seems that with my skillset, I am no longer encouraged to work on research, but to help supervise several projects simultaneously to help younger folks with their research. I have experience with this and its quite rewarding but the younger folks simply dont have the math chops to create the robust solutions I have been able make throughout my career. I usually have one "brilliant" idea a year which leads to a big breakthrough hence my salary raise. This has only come about because I allocate larges amounts of time to sit and reflect on a problem. But, with having to manage more projects to stay funded, I no longer have the ability to work within such an environment. I have to believe I am simply at the wrong organization and that someone will hire me.
I am 39 with a PhD. I feel way to young to give up on research yet! Any thoughts on how to proceed or where to look for a new position?