By arghhh - 03/08/2009 02:40 - United States

Today, I finished my internship working in a government lab. I got paid $4000 for the summer. I was talking to my cousin, who said that when he worked as a carnie last summer he made $8000. I get paid half as much for doing research as a carnie does for serving people sno-cones. FML
I agree, your life sucks 39 756
You deserved it 5 694
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Top comments

birds_fml 7

So what? A carnie is never going to go anywhere, you've got experience that will get you a better job and you'll end up with more in the end than a carnie ever could.

88 4
Cucchiaio 0

be thankful that you even got paid for an internship!

55 1

Comments

deamer 0

he just lied to you because they absolutely do not make that much.

0 1
Vitamin_C 0

Welcome to science bud... I hate to tell you, but your pay and your life are not going to get any better. You have a thankless depressing Master's to look forward to, a soul-sucking PhD to trudge through, a post-doc that will barely feed your family and then maybe you get your own lab so that you can go back to working 15 hour days and begging for grant money. Oh and as a woman, you get to struggle between having a family or running a good research lab, because unfortunately they are mutually exclusive. Have fun!! To everyone else bitching at the OP and telling her it will get better: STFU. It won't. Everyone and their dog has at least a Master's in Science at this point - you will not be special, you will not go further than your peers, simply because the minimum accepted level of education in science is far higher than in any other field. An internship is not a bonus - it is a requirement for someone to even look at your resume. So when we've spent at least 7 years getting our degrees and get paid less than a communications major who spent 4 years in a drink-fueled bogus undergrad and doesn't know his ass from his face, we get a little touchy. ******* wankers.

0 1
Hoax_fml 0

So, if what you said is true, who's smarter then? You, with your fancy science degree - that required tons of work, mind you, hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and a mediocre salary at the end of it. OR That same comm major, who drank his face off for four years, and ended up getting paid more than you. Hmm, which one could it be?

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drimpossible 0

Hmm. Sounds like you've done a lot of research and know what you were getting into in terms of salary... That said , a colleague of mine finished his PhD in physics, concentrating on modelling of gravitational waves. He hit 35 after working in academia for a few years (in the UK, where they are paid on similar scale to civil servants) , decided he was sick of it and wanted to make more money so joined a financial modelling software firm, then a bank, and is doing a lot better financially. With a PhD in a taxing topic (physics, engineering, math, stats, hard sciences or even mathematical economics) and some nous, you always have options

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Hoax_fml 0

True, you'll always have options because those are very marketable skills. But if you had gotten a degree in econ, which is like 10X easier than any of those real subjects you mentioned, and then got an MBA you'd be in a better position than having a PHD. If only for the fact that you'd be able to start that bank job years before the person with the PHD even entered the workforce. And, frankly, work experience (real work experience, not some carny job) is much more valuable than any degree.

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immersive 0

People who are saying that you shouldn't be getting paid for "internships," this girl was most likely doing an REU, which is a research experience for undergrads. National Science Foundation gives 4,000 dollars (plus housing and meals, usually) to help get undergraduates interested in graduate school. It's fairly standard, and $4,000 is a natural pay for it.

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Nofreakingway 0

sorry kid but thats life. scientists (except doctors and engineers) don't make all that much money.

1 0
ooshrooms 1

If you think she's "lucky" or "should be grateful" to get paid as an intern, you don't know what you're talking about. Lab internships aren't like an internship in a business office or the performing arts where you're a helper monkey trying to make connections. Summer lab work is usually skilled labor worthy of more pay than making snow cones and running a cash register. Scientists in general are woefully underpaid. Guys with whom I went to high school but who didn't go to college are making about as much as I'll start when I finish my phd after more than 8 years of school. I probably won't make a higher annual salary until my low 30s and won't make up for how much they've made in the meantime until I'm at least 40. Scientists get paid crap.

0 1
LMDaniel_Brendle 0

interns dont get paid... ******* idiot

0 1
Darkcloud_fml 0

I'm working this summer in a government lab myself doing research. And i don't get paid at all. So i suppose you should count your blessings that you actually got paid anything.

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LegndNikko 0

Either the cousin is lying, or the OP is lying. Either way, not true.

0 1