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Post by dr who on Dec 30, 2011 21:20:38 GMT -5
What do you do with $3,000 in start-up money? And how long are you typically given to use it? Books and software are obvious choices, but often software is already available through the department or university. Am I not thinking of some unforeseen expense?
Don't get me wrong -- it's a good problem to have. I just can't think of what all I would spend this on (and frankly, I'd rather have some of this for moving expenses!).
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Post by runner on Dec 31, 2011 9:33:49 GMT -5
hire an RA. do prelim research on your next project - do you need to travel? pay subjects? buy supplies? get transcriptions done? honestly, $3k sounds kind of piddly if you're at an R1 where they expect major publication work pre-tenure.
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Post by runner on Dec 31, 2011 9:34:43 GMT -5
(just for reference on my comment about sounding piddly: people in the physical sciences routinely get tens of thousands of startup which they use to build labs. you should think about building the infrastructure for your future research in the same way.)
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Post by yes on Dec 31, 2011 10:19:01 GMT -5
$3,000 for an R1 is piddly, but at least you have a start-up. You'll be amazed at how fast that money will go, especially if some of that has to go to computing, office furniture, or office supplies.
I've used research funds to pay for association memberships (which are pricey), to fly in colleagues for a research blitz, to travel to conferences, to hire undergrads (who often make better RAs than grad students), to pay for expensive data sets, and buy books.
As for how long you have, that depends on your contract/department. Some places say that you have 3 or 5 years to use the money, while others just add the money to your research account.
And, FWIW, start ups in the hard sciences are more like in the hundreds of thousands, not tens of thousands.
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Post by dr who on Dec 31, 2011 11:16:02 GMT -5
OP here. It's not at an R1, it's a public university, medium-sized, some grad programs but mostly undergrad. Don't need to buy a computer, they're covering that. Don't know about furniture, and I do mostly secondary data analysis.
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Post by drbearjew on Dec 31, 2011 11:35:37 GMT -5
Maybe think outside of the box, then. Mostly undergrad, medium size public university. I assume that they do more than just value teaching on paper.
Use the money for undergraduate development, maybe? This could be in the form of new active learning projects/community outreach/service learning opportunities which fit with your research interests.
Or, use it to host a mini-conference on topics in your own areas, which overlap with other departments on campus. It gives you the opportunity to develop interlocutors on a campus you're new to; it looks good for that school to host such an interdisciplinary conference (I'm assuming); and, as long as you frame it carefully with pursuing your own research agenda there may not be any issues with the higher ups questioning how you spend that money.
Just some ideas to bounce around...
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Post by travel money on Dec 31, 2011 12:20:25 GMT -5
they just paid for your conference travel for a couple years, maybe a trip back to your ph.d institution to finish some work, a trip to ISPCR for a class on some sort of analysis you might use in the future, etc.
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Post by dr who on Dec 31, 2011 12:33:50 GMT -5
they just paid for your conference travel for a couple years, maybe a trip back to your ph.d institution to finish some work, a trip to ISPCR for a class on some sort of analysis you might use in the future, etc. They're actually giving me some separate money for travel, and the dept chair tells me that there's dept money for that anyway. So, I probably won't be using it for travel. |
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Post by fac on Dec 31, 2011 15:14:58 GMT -5
start up money:
- laptop
- digital camera
- ipod, ipad, speakers
- books
- lifetime membership in organizations
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Post by no electronics on Dec 31, 2011 15:53:59 GMT -5
If it's one of the small-medium sized public Us in the Midwest I'm thinking of, you won't be able to purchase certain electronics (e.g., laptop, ipod, ipad) and you won't be able to buy furniture. You can use it to hire an RA, buy books, videos, memberships, conference/travel, etc. My suggestion is to wait to get to campus and the purchasing department (or dean's office) will tell you dos and donts. Even if you don't get a startup, don't feel bad. I went from a public with startup to a private with no startup. Instead of a set amount, I get to spend out of the department's budget and I can always ask the dean or provost for more money (they'll usually approve of reasonable expenses). My point here is that norms are different from campus to campus. Even if one place looks better on paper (e.g., startup funds explicitly stated in contract), it doesn't always mean that it is.
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Post by dr who on Dec 31, 2011 16:08:27 GMT -5
OP here. The dean mentioned books and software. Yeah, I'll just have to wait for specifics. Memberships sound like a good idea, though, now that I won't get those heavily discounted student prices.
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Post by lifetime on Dec 31, 2011 16:15:43 GMT -5
Do any associations that sociologists would join actually offer lifetime memberships? This would be a great use of start-up money.
Also, I wonder if you could buy that stupid expensive doctoral regalia with start up cash?
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Post by dr who on Dec 31, 2011 17:08:53 GMT -5
Also, I wonder if you could buy that stupid expensive doctoral regalia with start up cash? I'd wondered the same thing. |
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Post by no electronics on Dec 31, 2011 17:55:12 GMT -5
From my experience, the answer is yes and no ;D NO, if you want to pay for it before you start your new job. YES (well...more of a maybe), if you want to pay for it after you start your new job. The only reason why your new employer would cover the expense is because you will use it for commencement at your new institution. I'm guessing this depends greatly on the admin. If the admin at your college/U are strict/conservative, it's likely that they will say no and that the expense is related to what is expected of you to secure your job in the first place (i.e., PhD assumes you have your regalia).
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tnrd
New Member
Posts: 12
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Post by tnrd on Dec 31, 2011 20:39:28 GMT -5
$3K will go quicker than you realize. As others noted, professional organizational membership is quite pricey. Also, while your dept and school may offer travel money, there is a good chance you'll spend more on that than they will cover. Depending on the school, you may be surprised by how little software is already available through existing licensing. Do check on whether they cover furniture or whether you'll have to pay for that out of your startup. (Either way, I recommend the Herman Miller Aeron chair.)
The idea for a conference is a nice one, but in my experience, you need at least $20-30K to bring in even just a dozen people from out of town (and that's for a major travel hub host city, if you're not at such a location, it would be even more pricey).
I second the idea that undergrad RAs often make much better research assistants than grad students.. and they usually also cost a lot less.
Check on the rules for the startup money. It may be possible for you to use it for moving expenses.
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