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Post by ac on Jul 20, 2014 9:13:47 GMT -5
I've heard some guys say they've never paid taxes on study money. The fact is you are required to pay taxes as a self-employed person. Every study you do you fill out paper work and that info is passed on to the IRS so they know how much you make. If you don't pay, you may get away with it for a while but you will likely get caught and when you do you'll have to pay all back taxes and penalties and interest which could cost you over $10K. If this is your primary source of income then you have to file as self-employed which means you have to pay 15% just for SS and Medicare in addition to income taxes. When you work for a regular employer you pay 7.5% and the employer pays 7.5% but we have no employer so we have to pay all of it. I think when you actually file there is a deduction that actually knocks that down to about half so you only end up paying around 7.5% anyway. So if you earn $20,000-$3500 expenses=$16500. You have to pay the 7.5% on the entire $16,500 so that's $1237.50 just for that part. Assuming you're single filing as a single person then you pay nothing on the first $10,150 because of personal exemption and standard deduction that everyone gets to use. So $16,500 income-$10,150 deductions=$6350 taxable income. The first $9075 of taxable income is taxed at 10% so $6350 X 10%=$635 in federal income tax. $1237.50+$635=$1872.50 in Federal income tax. You may get other deductions as well but you shouldn't pay more than $1872.50 in federal taxes with your income example. You may have to pay state taxes as well but that will be far less. So if you put aside 10% or just a little more you should be fine unless your taxable income is over $19K then you'll be taxed at a higher rate.
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Post by ac on Jul 16, 2014 20:53:12 GMT -5
PPD is the best paying clinic in the country that i'm aware of. I'm close with my family so i'm going to stay put in Wisconsin but if I wasn't then I agree that Austin,TX would be the best place to move to for studies. Kansas City area is the next best place. Milwaukee,WI area is good for studies too but winters are horrible that far north.
As far as that particular study in Austin(PPD), I probably wouldn't do it. It's spread out too much. They have studies pretty frequently for $5-6K for 16-20 straight days with no OPVs or maybe 1 OPV. I guess if I lived right there near Austin then i'd do that $7000 study but not if I lived out of state.
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Post by ac on Jul 16, 2014 17:32:37 GMT -5
Unfortunately PharmaMedica is one of the worst clinics in the country. I haven't been there but i've noticed that the pay is well below normal. Also, the studies usually have a big gap between periods or have multiple OPVs. So it doesn't pay that much and has a large time commitment. If you haven't already, I would call those clinics nearest to you and get put into their computer systems. I've heard people in studies say that they get calls from Vince & Associates when there's a study they qualify for. Them and Quintiles are probably your best bets. Also, if you're not too far west of St. Louis, you could check out Covance Evansville. They don't have anything real good right now but they have more good studies than the average clinic.
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Post by ac on Jul 16, 2014 14:55:57 GMT -5
Everything you're asking about varies from clinic to clinic or study to study.
7. Some clinics will call you if you are in their system and you're a potential candidate for a study but you usually are the one who has to make contact. I don't deal with the clinics that don't post their active studies.
8. If the OPVs are spread out more than a couple days apart then it's very unlikely it'll be worth while to do that study if you live far away. If it's just a day or 2 between OPVs some clinics will do what's called a courteous stay. If the clinic is nearly full they won't do it but it doesn't hurt to ask.
9. I've had studies over 2 weeks long with just one day with a lot of blood draws. Almost always you will have a lot of blood draws the day of your first dose. Most studies will have several days with 3 or less draws and just a couple with a dozen or more draws.
If you tell me the area you live in I could recommend what clinics would be best for you to go to. Some areas are just not very good for studies.
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Post by ac on Jul 15, 2014 16:44:30 GMT -5
I don't know if I qualify as a veteran but i've done 8 studies in the last 13 months.
1. I try to do studies that have just 1 period and 0 or 1 out patient visit. I have no problem with being confined in a clinic for 2-3 weeks straight so these studies work best for me. Those studies should pay $3-6K each.
2. Earnings. I don't need much to live on so my goal is to make around $15K/yr taxable(after expenses). I need to make about $17-18K before expenses and should be able to do that in 5 studies. I plan to take winters off if at all possible and it should be possible. I think I could make $30K+ if I really wanted to but I want my veins to last so I give myself some long breaks. It makes a big difference where you live. I have 3 clinics within about 150 miles so I just go to those 3 and it doesn't cost all that much in travel costs.
3. No specific drugs that I know about that should be avoided. I prefer not to do IV drugs but that's just a personal preference. I also prefer not to do drugs that effect the brain.
4. The food is not very good at most clinics. Some clinics the food is mandatory and some it's not. I may avoid Spaulding because all food and drink is mandatory and they give milk several times a day. I really dislike milk. Covance is good because food is not mandatory and you get a good serving size. Not great quality but at least you don't starve like at Spaulding and .
5. I don't own a tv so I don't see commercials for trials.
6. I've been to PPD for a big study but that was risky since it was 1300 miles from home. From now on I plan to stay local. It depends where you live but it's probably best to just take the best of the local studies rather than go 1000 miles to try to get into a bigger study.
Hope this helps you some.
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Post by ac on Jul 12, 2014 8:22:34 GMT -5
Oh yeah unfortunately I kind of fall into the snorasaurus category. But I m always nice enough to offer my roommates ear plugs and let them know. Also I try to sleep on my side. I'm not that bad though, this one guy I was roomed with was on a whole different level. While a snoring roommate can be a pain, it's not nearly as bad as a roommate who plays music without headphones or talks on the phone after lights out. Snoring isn't soing that you do consciously, it's not intentional. Playing music without headphones(ear buds) is intentional and inconsiderate. People who are still being loud 30 minutes or more after quiet hours are the worst people in studies. I don't put up with it anymore. I will nicely ask them to be quiet the first time. If they don't quiet down I go to the staff. If they are still loud 30 minutes after quiet hours any other day during the study I go straight to the staff. There's no excuse and it shouldn't be tolerated as much as it is. If they can't follow the rules that they agreed to then they shouldn't be in studies. If you're playing any music or videos without ear buds at any time of day or night you are being inconsiderate and the good study participants should be reporting those people to staff. The room is supposed to be a quiet area. If you need to talk on the phone go in the hall. It's the courteous thing to do.
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Post by ac on May 1, 2014 7:29:09 GMT -5
Havard and the creme DE la creme of hospitals for example John Hopkins hospital all insist on using catethers for studies. I would more trust these institutions than some research facility who BS subjects about quality of blood samples from an IV. What is bigger risk to a study is incompetent staff. It's to be noted that universities and hospitals have better trained personnel such as RNs. In some states a RN or Doctor has to place the IV and/or monitor the use of IV. That said. A research site can offer a drug maker a discount by just straight sticking the subject rather than taking the more human route like the Havards and John Hopkins of today. A tech makes 9 an hour verses an RN at 30+ an hour. The drug will make them billions how dear you insist on $5 IV. JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE! I've learned that just because they make 3X the money doesn't make RNs any better at blood draws. The worst blood draws i've ever had were from a RN at Covance Evansville. The techs were better.
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Post by ac on Apr 29, 2014 12:28:03 GMT -5
PPD is the only clinic I know of that does 2 screenings. Celerion does it too.
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Post by ac on Apr 23, 2014 4:18:29 GMT -5
Just ask for the next available screening. If it's a high paying study then a lot of people will be calling so you may not get to screen on the first day even if you're quick. They may not tell you how many screenings there were before yours. I won't go back to Austin again unless I can stay for a while. That way if I don't get into the first study I can screen for another one right away. They almost always have good paying studies so you'll get into one eventually. I will only go down there when the temperature is acceptable for sleeping in my car since I may be waiting for a couple weeks to get into a study. Good luck.
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Post by ac on Apr 22, 2014 8:20:25 GMT -5
I am going to be traveling to Austen from Michigan and don't want to have it be a wasted trip. I'm not too worried about my lab work and vitals as I am quite healthy. I just don't want to be selected as an alternate! If I show up at one of the first screenings does that improve my chances of being selected? Anyone who knows the in's and out's at PPD could you give me some advice? Thank you! I traveled over 1000 miles for a screening at PPD. My screening was on the 3rd day of 7 days of scheduled screenings. When I got there, the entire group of people scheduled to screen for that study were told the study was already full. So, yes, it's very important to get the first day or 2 of screenings. They won't tell you if the study is already full until you get there to screen. PPD is risky for non-locals.
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Post by ac on Apr 9, 2014 8:38:12 GMT -5
Do you drink milk when in studies but not when out of studies. If the problems only occur when you drink milk, then you may be lactose intolerant.
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Post by ac on Feb 15, 2014 20:31:52 GMT -5
The per day pay seems really low. However, I have added them to my list.
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Post by ac on Feb 14, 2014 17:27:16 GMT -5
If you're BMI is 29.75 because you have more muscle than the average person then that's fine. If you don't have a lot of muscle then you need to accept that you're quite a bit overweight and that that is going to affect your health. Sorry, I don't know of any "magic pill".
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