I feel like you all are misplaying your hands. Find contractors that work for the govt.
They can bill the govt much higher rates because you have a PhD. They don’t have to pay you the extra. You could literally tell them that. Pay me at a junior rate and keep the difference until I prove I’m worth more.
You’d be straight revenue/profit for them. and it gets your foot in the door and you start getting actual experience.
This. As someone who runs a consulting business that works extensively with New Space startups doing business with big aerospace contractors and government entities, my only question is “What’s your PHD in?”
We probably won’t need you to really do much work. Just learn about our projects and come to meetings so you can talk about them. Heck, I’ll write you scripts and give you a sheet of the softball ass questions we expect and the answers to them we want you to give.
Could you tell me more? I’m in this situation and would love to learn more.
