Interesting Work, Poor Pay - Research Assistant Harvard University Employee Review

While the people at Harvard are very bright and the work is interesting, the institution is not ideal. Harvard attracts people who are looking for cutting edge research experience and who need the Harvard brand name to continue on in their own pursuits. Therefore, Harvard knows that it can pay entry level researchers badly and still retain top talent. For instance, my research team has structured my pay so that they can avoid paying me benefits. This means that I cycle between two pay periods--90 days in which I work for 35 hours a week and then 60 days in which I work 17 hours a week. This allows them to classify me as "less than part time" in order to pay me less and avoid providing me benefits. The result is that I make less on an annualized basis than I would make flipping burgers at McDonalds for 40 hours a week, especially when the health insurance benefits from McDonalds are factored in. This creates a situation in which young people of means can afford to be research assistants while young people who do not have family backing must find other work. Harvard's union is supposed to be fixing this problem, but they are worthless and do not have the employee's interests at heart. I cannot wait until I find a position elsewhere where I am paid better and can live a more normal life financially.