system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Do college students get paid for breakthroughs/discoveries in science, archaeology, etc?

It seems quite often that I'll read an article with a statement like "Students at ____ University recently discovered a new gene" or something along those lines. Would these students get paid for discovery (doesn't have to be directly through the school, also from various organizations) or are they not compensated?
gpt
No that's not how it works really.  Even professional scientists aren't explicitly paid on a "per-finding" basis.  They are usually paid some salary just for doing their work on a daily basis much like most other people are (there may be other pay structures but that's not what you're asking).  When a scientist discovers something it basically allows them to *publish* the findings and be the first to publish it.  That allows them to add it to their credentials when they want to apply to a more prestigious job or if they are applying for what are called "grants" where you get funding from an external source other than your employer that goes, typically, directly to funding your research.  This is similar in collage students - having a first finding of something adds quite a bit of prestigiousness to your credentials, allows you to publish etc.  They can't apply for grants typically but they can apply to "scholarships" which are sort of similar.

In summary, typically you don't get paid on a "I discovered something" basis *directly* but it does help to get better jobs and be more prestigious.