How much would you charge?

[01sonal]

Just want to pitch in and say that even if other folks wouldn't think of charging, that doesn't mean you are wrong or immoral for considering it. We all need to get by and sharing your story over and over again no doubt requires a great deal of emotional labor, that none of us should be expected to give time and time a gain for free, let alone those of us with marginalized identities (e.g., women, people of color, disabled folks, etc.). If this is something you are passionate about but something that isn't feasible or desirable for you to do (for whatever reason) without being compensated then there is nothing wrong with that. You're not less than for asking your work be valued in a way that is tangible and beneficial for you. 

Edited December 20, 2017 by 01sonal

[ShewantsthePhD101]

Literally no one was saying that there was anything wrong with her wanting to charge for her talks.

[01sonal]

On 12/22/2017 at 11:34 AM, ShewantsthePhD101 said:

Literally no one was saying that there was anything wrong with her wanting to charge for her talks.

That’s great, because nowhere did I say other folks said it was wrong of her  to want to charge for talks. People were saying that they’ve never thought to charge for the talks they give/that it goes against their personal ethics, ugh is totally fine. I just wanted to chime in and explicitly say there’s nothing wrong with her considering doing so especially as someone with a marginalized identity/identities, given that members of these groups are often expected to relive their traumatic experiences for others’ personal gain. Similar to how women are expected to listen to men’s problems without batting an eye and provide a sympathetic ear yet if they try to share their troubles with companions who are men, they’re all of a sudden deemed nags and clingy and a whole host of other unsavory, stereotypical attributes.

Edited December 31, 2017 by 01sonal

[ShewantsthePhD101]

[Oshawott]

On 12/19/2017 at 3:33 PM, pinoysoc said:

Ah thanks for the clarification. If you're planning to work in academia, doing these things for free, but getting to put this on your CV is pretty much the standard form of payment. I only asked those questions to get a feel of where you are coming from. You can always do a set fee (i.e. $200 per talk or price basing it on venue size). Again, I'm coming from an academic background where getting invitations to talk and having it on one's CV outweighs financial compensation. Also, from an altruistic POV, these talks (if you're doing them on your free time) should be considered as free since you're doing this on the merit of having time to inspire others. Just my two cents.

There's a difference between submitting research to a conference, getting accepted, and disseminating your research for free, and being asked to be a keynote speaker (or similar position) for an event, academic or otherwise. At the very least, if you are inviting someone to give a talk you should be reimbursing travel expenses, food, and accommodation if they have to stay overnight, which is what (as far as I can tell) all departments do when they invite speakers from outside their school to speak.

The "merit to inspire others" doesn't outweigh the financial burden of asking speakers to not only speak for free, but also not reimbursing any sort of accommodations which seems to be what's happening here. Academics are also paid to lecture by their university, and paid to do research. Creating a talk, the travel time, etc. all eat up time that you are actually paid for. There's also the fact that non-academics are also asked to give talks in industry "to inspire others" and I guarantee that most, if not all, industry speakers are charging fees.

Anyway here's an article on the CHE on deciding your speaker fee:

https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/whats-your-speaking-fee/52531

Here's another article from ChronicleVitae on the different type of speaking gigs and what can be expected as speaker fees:

https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1678-speaking-as-an-academic

Edited December 31, 2017 by Oshawott

[Crucial BBQ]

On 12/19/2017 at 10:30 PM, Adelaide9216 said:

My motivations for my speeches are the same and have never changed. Money is not and has never been the motivation. I am talking about a symbolic amount. And it's the people around me who keep saying to me that it makes zero sense that I keep on doing this for free. 

Who cares what the people around you think.  Okay, you do, but you get my point. 

To answer your question:  what to charge?  You can ask the organizers what they pay.  Ultimately, it will be a negation between you and those putting on the events and no one else. So the next time someone asks if you are available to speak reply with, "will I be compensated? From here you either accept what they offer or you don't.  

[E-P]

To begin with, you should never lose money for doing people favors.  Given your transportation situation (and good on you for saving the environment - I wish more people chose not to have cars!), at a minimum they should be paying you for your transportation.  Preferably in a Lyft/rideshare/cab.

 

But consider this: Whatever time you're spending doing these speeches is missed opportunity to be doing something else.  For example, in my professional life, at a full time job, I make around $34 an hour.  At a minimum, I should be making that, if not more.  Figure out what your "hourly" is.  Personally, I think it should be a lot more than you would make in your day job, because this is your personal time!  You're taking time away from your hobbies, your loved ones, your furry companions.  They are forcing you to wear pants when you could be at home in a bathrobe.  You Deserve More.

 

So let's say that it takes you an hour to travel there, an hour to get home, an hour to do the speech, and two hours to prepare.  At a minimum, you should make your hourly.  The Internet tells me that a social worker makes $43K a year (goodness ).  That comes out to $21 an hour.  But your personal time is worth more than that - so let's say $30 an hour.  For five hours, that's $150, plus whatever your travel expenses are.

 

TED Talks, whether or not they should be, generate a lot of interest in people.  I mean, who would know Simon Sinek if he weren't pretty and doing TED talks.  You have this going for you.  Accordingy, these people are seeking you out - that means that you are wanted and valued.  Value yourself enough to charge them!

 

Finally, consider this.  When you apply for jobs, they ask you how much you want to make.  They already have a number in their head.  If they're thinking "$50,000" and you tell them $20,000, they will assume you're actually unqualified or otherwise have no idea what you're doing.

 

So give them a number.  If you feel bad about it, donate half to a charity of your choosing.  You got this!