Background:

I have an MSc in mathematics but no PhD, and I am relatively new to academic research. I have no publications although I'm co-author of a preprint. I'm also 35+ and because of family and financial circumstances, relocating abroad is not a realistic option.

I had a position as a research engineer in computational biology and the group wanted to keep me but changes in government employment rules meant that the position could not be extended (beyond 1 year) without becoming tenure (which understandably they couldn't offer). The rules also prevented them from offering a research engineer position with the possibility of later converting it to a PhD position.

I'd love to do a PhD but not for the sake of the title. Given my age; finances; and family responsibilities, the topic; supervision and location would all have to be right for it to be worthwhile. Hence, my opportunities to participate are slim.

I have academic contacts but none that can give me any formal position at the moment. (Although references and recommendations are not a problem.) Also, at least one of my ideas was in one case clearly developed and published by colleagues or their collaborators without my involvement or credit.

Yet, I still want to contribute and collaborate without my ideas just being scooped up and published by someone with more time and resources.

Questions:

1. What are some good ways to establish priority for an idea or preliminary piece of research before approaching potential collaborators?

2. Does anyone, preferably someone who recognize my situation or have been there themselves, have any general advice for me to remain involved in academic research?

3. Is it normal and acceptable for someone with no affiliation to upload a manuscript to arXiv and would this be a viable alternative?

(I think I can work out (3) though via: I want to submit a paper to arXiv.org, but I'm not affiliated to an Institute. What can I do? )

I have read: Outsider Contributions: Are They Possible, and How?

but I didn't feel it was similar enough to my own situation to answer my questions.

I would especially appreciate advice from people who have conducted research independently or entered academia later in life.