[jason taylor]

Spacer "Universities":

Despite the prestarflight legend of the down and out starship manned by poverty stricken crew, spacers even of tramp vessels are at the forefront of interstellar culture. Aside from the obvious point that a real tramp is a big investment and will be well cared, for the ability of modern computers to process information has led to a custom of using starships to fuel the intersteller inteligentsia. Curiously this started in Ancient Terra where the last sailing vessels would recruit based on advertising an "experience" that might be useful to put on an application. Megacorporations do not usually take part in this as much because of the large number of personal to administer. Smaller vessels, who have a more intimate crew and who visit out-of-the-way ports more often take more effort in such things.

The classic version of this is to recruit supernumerary crew. These can be gotten by a notable captain at low wages for often a patron at home will pay the wages themselves. Sometimes indeed the ship can actually make a profit when dirtsiders pay for a position for relations. The real payment the newbie gets is being taught in a trade as well as anything he learns in the studying along the way. Famously the Scouts have a variation on this and many still say their program is the best given that they have access to material from all over the Imperium. Private ships often use this idea though. Extra crew can at worst serve for maintaining the ship or loading and unloading when a stevedore crew is less convenient. A rough and ready security service is also available. However as the job is generally thought of in terms of apprenticeship it is common to assign them as assistants to an officer. This can cause problems but if they have gone through training before hand it is less awkward. In the meantime there is leisure time during jump periods, enough for a spacer to educate himself, and enough access to proper material.

A variation of this comes from interaction with dirtside. There is a lively trade in information in such forms as e-books and lecture recordings. Out of the way worlds often have no other source of knowledge and will pay for this as they pay for medicine, rare technology, mail, news, and the like.

A smaller part of this is the carrying of passengers. Scholars traveling from one research facility to another usually go by passenger vessels or dedicated courier vessels. However they often buy a ticket in a smaller vessels. Correspondents, Sociologists and Artists have been known to go on small vessels to get a feel for the lifestyle.