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Frequently Asked Questions - Consultants
Questions
Answers
- What is the purpose of the STC? (To
Top)
The STC is a student-run agency that places student
consultants in short-term projects, or "jobs," offered by the faculty.
Faculty and staff often have technical jobs that do not merit a full
UROP, such as updating a course web page or writing software for
automating a repetitive task. At the same time, MIT has many students
who have the skills (and occasionally even the time!) to perform these
functions. STC hopes to bring both sides together for mutual benefit.
Through an innovative new accounting system, STC can offer a student wage higher than UROPs: $15/hr. In addition, you set your own hours and you have the opportunity to meet with faculty and staff for UROP sponsorship or other future reference.
- What types of jobs will I get from the STC? (To Top)
The STC currently
supplies jobs in the field of web and software development as well as
teaching. These jobs are generally short term (a couple of weeks
maximum).
- How do I get a job? (To
Top)
Register as a consultant by visiting the consultant
registration page, filling out the form, and submitting it. Once
you've registered, you should log in, and enter your skill set. The
skill set is organized in a tree. A set of "top level" skills are
presented to you. For each skill that you indicate experience with,
the sub-skills are then shown to you. The STC agents look for
consultants whose skills match those of the job they are trying to
assign. Finally, you should attend a training session to get
activated.
However, getting a job offer can require more than just having the
right skillset. After a job has been accepted into the system, it
becomes available for consultants to view and express interest in.
The job and a link to a short description will appear on your
consultant home page. By clicking "yes" to interested. you indicate
that you would like to perform the job. The agent first considers
those who have expressed interest before expanding to the full
consultant pool. However, if you express disinterest, the agent will
not consider you for the job unless someone is desprately needed.
When a job is offered to you, two things will happen. First, you
should get an email informing you of the offer. Second, the offer
will appear on your consultant home page. At this point, you will
have access to all details about the job and can make an informed
decision about whether you are available and interesting in taking on
the job. Sometimes a job is offered to more than one person, thus
accepting a job offer is not a garantee of getting the job.
- I don't have skills - is training available? (To Top)
Training will be
available for certain products. A "product" is a cookie-cutter job,
one which involves solving a common problem around the institute. For
example, many faculty don't know how to get certificates and check on
their advisees. Thus, an STC product might involve visiting the
professor's office, setting up their office machine with certificates,
and leading them through the process. The partnering organizations
that sponsor the products will be providing training for people who
wish to take them on. In the above example, it would be someone from
academic services providing the training.
- How much will I be paid? (To Top)
The current rate for STC jobs is
$15/hour.
- How do jobs progress through the STC? (To Top)
Jobs progress through
a number of stages:
- Submitted
The job has been submitted by a client, but an agent
has not yet looked it over.
- Reviewed
An STC agent has looked over the job, assigned a
skillset, and verified that the job is appropriate for the STC. Jobs
in this state are displayed to consultants for them to express
interest.
- Offered
The agent has extended job offers to one or more
consultants and is waiting on them to get back.
- Matched
The agent has assigned a consultant to the job, and the
consultant is setting up the first meeting with the client.
- Active
The consultant met with the client, filled out the
contract (pdf / ps), got it signed, and delivered it to the STC
office in 4-405.
- Finished
The last timecard (pdf / ps) for the job has been submitted, and the job
only lacks evaluations submitted by the client and the
consultant.
- Finalized
The evaluations from the client and consultant are
in; the job is complete.
- Who do I contact if my question isn't listed here? (To Top)
Send email to stc@mit.edu with your question, and
someone on the staff will get back to you.
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