Technology

Help Wanted: Stephen Hawking Seeks Assistant to Maintain His Voice

Stephen Hawking Seeks Technical Assistant

LONDON (The Blaze/AP) — Can you help make Stephen Hawking’s voice heard? The famed British physicist has put out a help wanted ad for an assistant to develop and maintain his computer-assisted speech system.

The position —  “Technical Assistant to Stephen Hawking” — would involve willingness to travel, computer literacy and the ability to work without the help of an instruction manual or tech support.

Stephen Hawking Seeks Technical Assistant

Tasks as Prof. Hawking's assistant.

He suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which has confined the theoretician to a high-tech wheelchair equipped with an electronic voice synthesizer, which gives Hawking his distinctive robotic monotone.

According to Hawking’s website informing interested parties of the position, which will be formally accepting applications mid-January with a start date in February, is being funded as a graduate position through the University of Cambridge. Salary will be around $38,500 per year.

Hawking is known for his pioneering work on black holes, his popular books on cosmology, and his refusal to bow to the disease that left him almost completely paralyzed.

To unofficially apply for the position fill out this form. They will send you more information for an official application if you fit the bill after this pre-screening.

Comments (25)

  • ed0315
    Posted on January 1, 2012 at 11:04am

    I could do it and for that ridiculous salary you wouldn’t believe what would be coming out of that voice synthesizer!

    Report Post » ed0315  
  • applehill
    Posted on December 31, 2011 at 10:28pm

    $38,500 a year… Yeah this guy is a atheist. That’s a lot of requirements and duties for so little pay. Typical Liberal minded atheist. Everyone else should pay their people more. Everyone but them.

    Report Post » applehill  
  • LouiseCA
    Posted on December 31, 2011 at 5:46pm

    I hope God sends a Spirit-filled Christian to him. What would happen to the atheist agenda if this man was saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and healed before the entire world? satan would hate it…

    Report Post »  
  • OneTermPresident
    Posted on December 31, 2011 at 3:16pm

    38k gets you a job as his butler…

    Report Post » OneTermPresident  
  • Gustavspeed
    Posted on December 31, 2011 at 9:39am

    As a Neurologist and someone who heard directly from Dr. Hawkings’ neurologist, David Marsden (who has passed away), and having seen patients with ALS and other neurological disorders, I can tell you that Prof Hawkings does not have ALS.

    He has Spinal muscular Atrophy.

    Report Post »  
    • Lucy Larue
      Posted on December 31, 2011 at 12:35pm

      GUSTAVSPEED,
      Merci. This is a most interesting comment.
      I have often wondered why Hawkins is still alive. My knowledge of ALS (what little I had), indicated that people only lived for 2 or 3 years after being diagonsed.

      You say he suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy. People with this disease can live a normal lifespan, Non?

      Report Post »  
  • idarusskie
    Posted on December 31, 2011 at 8:11am

    should be pretty easy to do. Most of that stuff is off the shelf.

    Report Post »  
  • UKANTISOCIALIST
    Posted on December 31, 2011 at 7:29am

    Brilliant take off of Hawking by Steve Coogan

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5znEizruC5E

    Report Post » UKANTISOCIALIST  
  • jvickers5937
    Posted on December 31, 2011 at 6:13am

    i would not help this puke do anything. he is an athiest freak who needs to shut his face and go back to his startrek freako lefty world.

    Report Post » jvickers5937  
  • Apple Bite
    Posted on December 31, 2011 at 2:31am

    Being intelligent doesn’t mean you have the common sense to use it.
    Ask Obama…

    Report Post » Apple Bite  
  • rdietz7
    Posted on December 31, 2011 at 2:22am

    Hawking is a government stooge. He has lost his ability to communicate. The government wheels him out and speaks to the masses through the mic as hawking drools all over himself. At one time he was a brilliant scientist who sold his soul to these people that want to rule us by having us not believe in a higher power. If we don’t believe in God then we will be dependent on them. It is socialism/Communism 101 people. Hawking is pure propaganda.

    I’ll take the job. I have no background in anything related to the back of this veggie tale’s wheel chair. It would be the easiest 30 grand I could make in 2012.

    just in case someone gets defensive of handicapped people in response to this. I in now way intend to make fun of someone with a disability. this is a tactic of Socialism. They love turning the masses against the few people that see through the bull while hiding behind political correctness. If you fall for this, your as good as strapped into the wheel chair with Hawking and paraded around the world to deliver atheist propaganda.

    Report Post » rdietz7  
  • HuckleberryFriend
    Posted on December 30, 2011 at 11:38pm

    I could probably do this pretty easily. Too bad he is not even paying half my current salary. It wouldn’t be worth it for most people that his staff are willing to consider.

    I have worked with my share of celebrities. I don’t know what happens when you become rich and famous, but they often, seem to have self-manufactured problems that occur in the middle of the night. This goes doubly so for the ones who view themselves as extremely intelligent and tech savvy.

    That’s why I feel terrible for the poor sap they pick for this job, who probably has a PhD in Computer Science, another PhD in Computer Engineering and is a Certified Architect/Security Specialist for Cisco, Red Hat, Microsoft, and Apple products but has to wake up in the middle of the night (It has to be fixed right now!) to show up on site (remote access is unacceptable for security reasons of course) and uninstall the spyware his client got through web surfing sketchy sites and purposefully bypassing the system security measures (It shouldn’t be able to do that!).

    Report Post » HuckleberryFriend  
    • Sheriff Joe Rocks
      Posted on December 31, 2011 at 12:51am

      Poor sap? Uh….I believe it would be voluntary wouldn’t it? Who cares if you work for the hollywood peeps? You HAD to throw that in didn’t you? Fancy….WOW…..that’s fancy!!! lol
      Seriously man or woman…….get off your mighty super duper hollywood horse……2012 is upon us and you and your fancy friends are in for the shock of your life. Get humble. REAL quick like.
      Just a friendly tip from the sheriff.
      Peace out.

      Report Post »  
    • HuckleberryFriend
      Posted on December 31, 2011 at 2:15am

      Whoa there with the animosity good buddy!

      You are right, the job is voluntary. Not to mention, this job would be good for someone starting out in the IT profession, or someone who has no job currently. I certainly made less after I finished school. My point was that, because Stephen Hawking is a celebrity, there is a good chance his staff won’t be looking to take any of those types simply because he is a celebrity. They’ll more than likely hunt down someone who is overqualified, squander that resource, and make the job entirely more difficult that it needs to be, not on purpose but as a casuality of this mentality.

      I only mention working with celebrities because that experience was relevant to being hired by a celebrity which is mentioned in the article. I didn’t drop names or try to impress anyone. Many other contractors and employees can probably vouch for similar experiences to mine. Fame and fortune seem to go to a lot of these people’s heads (not all, but a lot), and I don’t think many people realize the added headache that goes along with taking on a client like that. I certainly didn’t when I started out.

      I never said I was fancy, or had fancy friends. I have some clients, but I am just a regular guy, at least in my book.

      2012 is upon us, yes, and maybe I need to prepare myself more. I probably shouldn’t have knocked celebrities in general, there have been some positive experiences to be had for sure. I just doubt I am the person you have pegged me

      Report Post » HuckleberryFriend  
  • TROONORTH
    Posted on December 30, 2011 at 10:40pm

    Hawking was excellent on Star Trek. A brilliant mind trapped in a destroyed body.

    Report Post » TROONORTH  
  • sURFNmADNESS
    Posted on December 30, 2011 at 9:51pm

    I thought Obama said it was these ATM (Automatic Talking Machine) that was taking away jobs?!? What’s that, ATM = Automated Teller Machines… Oh. never-mind.

    BTW S.H. $38k is chump change from a guy worth $20 mil on last estimate. Should be another digit in front of the (1)38,500 for something so critical to the speeches required to pay the bills.

    Report Post » sURFNmADNESS  
    • Macman1138
      Posted on December 30, 2011 at 10:22pm

      Yeah, really. He probably has a Windows machine too and those are a nightmare to maintain.
      He wants someone to do all that for him for chump change.
      Typical.
      I’d do it for $60,000 a year and I’d provide a new 15″ MacBook Pro to sweeten the deal.
      Give him his old accent back too!

      Report Post » Macman1138  
  • ZengaPA65
    Posted on December 30, 2011 at 9:17pm

    If anything Hawking should S T F U.

    Report Post » ZengaPA65  
    • Macman1138
      Posted on December 30, 2011 at 10:23pm

      I had a good laugh at your post.
      Good job!

      Report Post » Macman1138  
    • diablosho
      Posted on December 31, 2011 at 12:17am

      Rob: I’m pretty sure Zengapa meant that Hawking is an incredible douche, and is routinely the biggest ******* in the room (whichever room he happens to be in).

      Report Post »  
    • ZengaPA65
      Posted on December 31, 2011 at 11:37am

      You know what happens when you ASSume Rob.

      Report Post » ZengaPA65  
    • therockczar
      Posted on December 31, 2011 at 1:48pm

      Intelligent to not, bottom line is Hawking is a ******.

      Report Post » therockczar  
    • therockczar
      Posted on December 31, 2011 at 1:50pm

      Intelligent or not, Hawking is a r-e-t-a-r-d

      Report Post » therockczar  
  • christos
    Posted on December 30, 2011 at 8:45pm

    …Mind you…try praying.ask the one who created you Mr. Hawking….+JESUS CHRIST+

    Report Post » christos  

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