I applied for the position of Research Analyst that Whale Path listed on LinkedIn only to find that the “position” was not an actual job at all. Whale Path’s model is to “crowdsource” research projects, so they don’t offer actual full-time analyst positions. You do get paid if your work is used, but this is not a full-time job with benefits. You will see a lot of these types of “freelance” jobs now. The New Yorker just did a whole article on this phenomenon, which they call the "1099 economy” after the type of tax form freelance workers file. I know a lot of us are desperate for jobs, but job seekers need to rally together against these kinds of companies. This is a great deal for the business owners - they get cheap labor without having to invest anything in employees. With almost no overhead, I am sure the executives are laughing all the way to the bank. But it is an awful bargain for job seekers trying to make ends meet. If Whale Path wants to offer high quality consulting services they should hire, train, and pay well-qualified smart analysts, and not try to squeeze labor out of people on the cheap. Do yourself and other job seekers a favor and don’t get involved with these types of exploitative companies. Let’s send the message that employees are valuable and deserve to be treated with respect!