Scientists turn to freelancing as the gig economy takes hold
LONDON (PRWEB UK) 23 January 2018 -- The gig economy or “uberisation” of employment is something we would normally associate with sectors like the taxi or courier industry. However data from http://www.kolabtree.com, a platform that connects companies with PhD level freelance scientists, suggests that even the science industry isn’t escaping this huge trend.
PhDs are perhaps a level of award that you wouldn’t normally expect to see on the freelance circuit, however there is a growing trend for PhD level professionals to pursue freelance work rather than the more traditional research route within an academic institution.
In the 2 years since Kolabtree launched, over 4,000 PhD level experts, a mixture of recent PhD graduates as well as specialists with 30-40 years of experience, have registered themselves as science freelancers on the platform.
“PhD scientists are realising that they are able to offer significant value to businesses that are seeking to solve a complex issue,” states Ashmita Das, Kolabtree Co Founder and CEO.
“At the same time we are seeing strong demand from organisations looking for expert freelancers to help with projects that require a high level of expertise. We see a very wide range of examples from food startups looking for a food scientist to convert a kitchen recipe into a shelf-stable product, through to business consulting firms looking to collect literature on the characteristics of female leadership...the list is endless.”
Globalisation and our ability to communicate across borders means it’s never been easier for an organisation to employ an individual on the other side of the world. Where before organisations might only think to look at a local talent pool, platforms like Kolabtree now mean that they can tap into a global PhD level talent pool and more easily identify the best in the world in any specific field.
Generalist freelancing platforms like Upwork and Peopleperhour have been using this model for some time and it’s not a big stretch to see this working in more highly specialist sectors like data science.
“Recently for example, an insurance company from the US consulted an expert statistician from the UK to analyse an error rate study on policies.”
Much like the more established generalist platforms, Kolabtree allows companies to list the projects for which they need expert help whilst freelancers can create a profile for free and apply for projects where they see a skills match. It’s only after the two parties have established a dialogue, agreed a fee and completed the work that the fee changes hands. Kolabtree charges a small commission on the fee.
About Kolabtree
Kolabtree connects businesses and labs with freelance PhD-qualified scientists all over the world. The platform has over 4,000 registered freelance PhDs who are offering services such as statistical review, data analytics, literature search, writing, editing, scientific consulting and experimental design. Experts include scientists from the likes of NASA, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Cambridge, with expertise across disciplines including life science, data science, healthcare, social science, and physical science.
If you are a business needing the help of a freelancer, you can post your project for free on http://www.kolabtree.com.
Ashmita Das, Kolabtree, http://www.kolabtree.com, +44 +447476825525, [email protected]
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