Genealogy Chat

Clive- a 'silly bugger' as you elloquently put it, would not have parted with £600 knowing that the research was going to be poor. You have no idea what he actually got for that £600, and if it were me, i'd very much resent you calling me a 'silly bugger' without knowing the facts. 'Silly' is often only acknowledged with the benefit of hindsight.

The fact that your workmates keep you busy doing lookups for free doesn't, of itself, suggest that they would be just as happy to pay you to do it. What would you have to charge to cover your costs and provide the equivalent remuneration of even a modest job, and could you find that many paying customers? The silly bugger who paid £600 (silly if he got rubbish, not for paying £600) would represent about three or four days work on average earnings. How much could YOU research in that time, and would you consider the results value for money? I have spent about 2000 hours of my own time so far, and have not actually counted the cost of certificates/subscriptions/travelling expenses. I couldn't imagine paying anyone to replicate even 10% of my research, and I've hardly scratched the surface of my lot yet.

I'D LOVE TO I could spend all day everyday doing what i love Jess

Reg....that was the example I had in mind too!

Well - there ARE people who make a living out of doing research for people, so it IS possible that you could do it. However, because there is now so much information on the internet (although I agree it's not so easy with Irish ancestry) and so many people are willing to do look-ups for free (lots of people on here for instance), I'm not sure whether you could make a full time job out of it. Personally, I just like helping out when I can and would hate to feel it was just a job rather than a very interesting hobby, but that's just my opinion, and I'm sure there will be lots of people who think differently. Good luck if you decide to go for it. Kath. x

There is an example on the boards at the moment where a chap claims to have paid a 'professional' the frightening sum of £600, and from what one can deduce, has got a load of rubbish in return for his outlay. So, anyone who uses these boards is likely to be very wary of 'professionals'........... Reg

Chris, You aren't the first to bring this subject up. One question I have thought is this...why would anyone pay someone to research for them when there are so many kind hearted souls both on this site and others who are willing to do a brilliant job at helping others...for free? From what I've read of 'professional' researchers, they don't come across too brilliantly. But that is just my humble opinion! Mandy

Thank you to all of the people who took the time to reply to my query. Food for thought !!! Please have a very pleasant New Year to you all. Chris O'Hara