Honoraria?

[la_sherazade]

Can anyone give advice on how much to charge for giving a lecture series at a small, local non-profit organization? I am a PhD candidate but won't have my degree until next fall. I was thinking in the range of $75/talk...is that too much? I know honoraria for speaking at a university are more, but this place doesn't have a lot of money. On the

Comments

[esmeraldus_neo]

I get $25 per hour for editing and other using-my-brain-and-education sorts of activities.

If I were expected to do the same sort of mental work in nice clothes and with showmanship, so to speak, I would expect more.

Adjust downward for philanthropy.

[la_sherazade]

But I'm planning about 7-10 hours prep for each talk, so that's already in the $200+ range, and I think that's too much to charge...

[esmeraldus_neo]

Well, like I said, adjust downward for philanthropy.

Is that all fresh research?

[la_sherazade]

Well, I'm having a hard time figuring out what to give the talk on...I don't imagine the local folks would be that interested in my dissertation (on Gallé), but of course, that would be an easier topic. I'm thinking at this point about talking on three paintings that are here in local collections so, yes, it would be mostly fresh research. But the bar's a bit lower than a conference paper, so hopefully it wouldn't be too huge a time commitment.

[esmeraldus_neo]

Let me rephrase this a little bit...

I think it's noble of you to want to give the gift of your time.

But I think you should place an accurate value on your time.

You have a good mind, or you wouldn't be a doctoral candidate. You have had an expensive education that has taken years of study and probably some sacrifice.

If you were working in private enterprise, this would have a dollar value attached. Many small businesses fail because the owners account for all of the costs except for their own labor.

I am not telling you to stick this organization for all the traffic will bear. Certainly not.

I think it's excellent that you are willing to donate your time, or take only a small fee. But you should be aware of the value of what you are giving. Give it freely, but don't undervalue your time even when you give it away.

edit: Also, the experience, as another poster said, is worth something to you. And it's a line on your cv.

[la_sherazade]

Well, and I think it's a good networking opportunity, too. Part of why I want to give a talk on artists in local collections, rather than on my own research, is that I used to work for the county museum and am interested in local history... but I also hope that the organization in question will think about hiring me for a more permanent position. (I had sent them a resume, and their response was to suggest the lecture series.) So I'm not concerned about making a *lot* of money, but given that my advisor would probably shoot me if she knew I was doing *anything* other than my diss, I should have some financial motivation... I guess I'm sticking with $75/talk. The lectures won't be difficult to write. I won't charge as much as I would charge for, say, research ($17/hour)...but that way I'm not completely undervaluing my time.

[esmeraldus_neo]

doing *anything* other than my diss

Schools of thought on this vary. There is concentrating on the dissertation and then having very little else when you're done, or getting more involved in the field and taking your chances with your advisor...and frankly with doing your diss more slowly or not finishing it, if you go overboard with professional activities.

But that's not what you asked about. Shutting up now. :-)

Sounds like you know what you're doing and why. Cool.