[Batman]

So, I've gotten some very nice "you seem like you would make a great addition to our team, but sorry we're not hiring at this time" e-mails lately, so it occurred to me that if I can't find any way to put my statistical training to use, I should try to make some money off of my writing ability.

"What writing ability?" you may ask, but I'll have you know that friends and relatives come to me all of the time for help with writing, re-writing, or proofreading their resumes and college papers.

So I looked into opportunities for freelance writers over the internet and discovered this website called oDesk, an online commerce community like eBay or CCL with buyer and seller ratings and all of that, except instead of buying and selling stuff you go there to buy and sell work--things like coding, web design, and writing.

There's no upfront charge--they take their cut when you get paid--so I decided to give it a try. They have aptitude tests you can take, and I earned top 5% scores in several of them in writing and proofreading topics, which I hope should balance out my lack of paid experience in potential employers' minds.

I know that there are a couple of Punsters in publishing or similar fields that make use of writers and proofreaders (sorry, I don't recall precisely whom) so if any of you can aim some work my way, my oDesk page is here.

And the rest of you could... well, wish me luck!

If this doesn't work out, I think I'm going to have to follow the drum. The Army is one employer that's still hiring.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

Try journalismjobs.com or indeed.com. Even craigslist would be a good resource.

[The Canadian Content]

Also, try to think outside the box. Virtually every company has written communications, whether it's advertising, online content, or even internal correspondence -- if it's written, you could write it. If they have a writer, they need a proofreader. Sometimes, it's just a matter of making people see the value of professional-looking communication.

Also, good luck.

[Batman]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the suggestions and thoughts.

I hadn't heard of indeed.com before, it looks like a really useful job-search tool.

[Outback Frito Pendejo]

Consider putting up ads on bulletin boards at nearby colleges. Students and faculty have to do a lot of writing. Some doctors (and medical students) write papers, don't have a lot of time, and in some cases don't write very well. So if you can get access to nearby hospitals (especially teaching hospitals), med schools, osteopath schools, etc. you might find customers. Probably wouldn't pay like corporate work, but your stats background would be a big selling point. You might even want to advertise there as a stat guy as well, since in academia a hired gun statistician is often kosher (if credited) but hired gun writers are a dirty secret.

eta: you could also look for local medical group practices that tout their affiliations with a med school and/or advertise looking for research subjects.