24k in 3-4 months realistic?

[turdferguson]

How realistic is this plan:

I would like to be a lab rat for 3-4 consecutive months a year and then take the next 8 off to travel.  I will probably do this for 2-5 years.  My income goal is $24k a year from studies, but I won't be upset if it's more like $20k.  I figure if I can stagger them and get into long studies, this would be a realistic number to hit if I spend 3-4 months dedicated to it.  Am I correct in this thinking?  I am not willing to do spinal taps, breathing tubes, or anything more extreme than blood draws and such.  I'm also not going to do any alzheimers or HIV drug studies.  I can travel anywhere in the US as I live in a small RV.  I would prefer this to doing studies at a more reasonable pace and spending my off time in the US.

Thanks for any input

[turdferguson]

The risk of paralysis and the discomfort of having a tube shoved down my throat is not worth it. I can make 80k+ at a real job, but would prefer to downshift and travel, as I have significant passive income rolling in. I'm in excellent health and will not risk that. I have heard bad reports from members on here about alzheimer's and HIV medication. I really don't feel like that counts me out of a lot of studies. I do plan on ignoring washout rules, and I have thus far managed to line up 3 studies at different non VCT locations with gaps of only a few days inbetween. I don't see how this would be that difficult to do uously. In your example of 3k a month, you are only in a study 10-15 days per month. That really doesn't seem like pushing it hard. If you can line up 2 45 day studies relatively close together, there's 20k right there, which would suit me just fine. There are legends among the lab rats here of guys banking 60-70k by doing nothing but studies all year and staggering them correctly.

[vark]

not very realistic. are you 18-45 in perfect health? that will help. if you cherry pick the best studies at nasa and covance you might make $24k in 4 months, but you won't like the nasa study, and at covance it's not unusual that you have to screen a month before checkin, and don't expect to get in if you go right from one study to the next screening. for me $24k is a very good year, i havent quite hit that yet, and that's 12 or 13 months a year.
if you spend 120 days in clinics you can make $24k if you are making $200 a day, but those 120 days will be broken up here and there. for example in the sudy i'm in now we had a week off between the first part and the second part, and it was close to a month between screening and when the study started, and then there's a 2 week follow-up, so it was a 2 1/2 month time commitment for $6900. you can't expect to just jump from study a to study b the next day, even if you are willing to play fast and loose with your washout periods.

[mike]

Yeah we have heard this unrealistic theme numerous times here.
Another thing many people don't anticipate, even if they line up several studies in quick succession, is somewhere in your second or third study you have been stuck 150 times and your arms and veins just need a rest; not to mention, unless you're sneaking supplements (which can screw up your labs in itself) you may be depleted of iron, and possibly other minerals that take a while to build up in your blood.

[turdferguson]

I'm 30 and insanely healthy. As in, I actually honestly fit the profile they're looking for. This gives me an advantage over the "crackheads" you're talking about. I have not had any trouble getting into these 3 studies. I am making it a point NOT to do the spaced out studies that you're talking about, Mike. I will only do them if it's a big block of overnight stays and maybe one outpatient. So far this has been easy, and I literally just got into this last week. I hear you on the veins needing a break though. I will have to look into this whole iron level thing. Also I can't recall any point where I declared myself the master of the universe, and if you have a better resource for clinical trials than this site I am all ears. As far as I know this is the best resource.

[ac]

Ok, so let's see what you can make in 90-120 days if you're lucky: Days 1-20 you're in a study and make $5000. While in that study you line up a screening for 5 days after you get out. Now you're at 25 days. That study checks in in 10 days and is for 24 days fro $6000. At that point you're at 59 days and $11000. Then you set up a screening for 5 days later and check in 10 days after that for a 30-day $7500 study. That puts you at 104 days for $18,500. You probably won't start another study before the 120 days is up let alone finish another one. This is pretty much best case and you would be very lucky to do this and it still falls short of your goal. I made $29,000 last year and things worked out pretty much perfect to make that much. I expect to make $18-24K/yr most years pretax.  

[turdferguson]

Thanks AC, that sounds pretty good. I would be happy with that 18k and call it quits or maybe do another quickie.

[vark]

yeah, ok, you've gotten our feedback. you've set an ambitious goal but will settle for a bit less. give it a shot and keep us posted.
not all the gory details or someone will rat you out, but generally check in. i'm always up to learn new ways to squeeze a few more nickels out of this game. maybe you'll teach us new tricks. one thing you may find is that at first it goes well, and then you start burning out clinics and wind up on their do not recruit list. or maybe you'll get on their good side and they'll call you with the good studies and save a place for you.
perhaps i'll be seeing you at nasa later this year. stay hydrated.

[mike]

Probably one of the biggest stumbling blocks is even if you are in fine health and your labs are great, bad luck may relegate you to being an alternate or not even getting into the study, it just happens sometimes. About the only defense against this with most clinics is to schedule the earliest screening you can, unless you can obtain some very embarassing or incriminating pictures of a recruiter...