We don't even really understand what causes the glacial cycles yet. This is an area where there are multiple competing hypotheses. I list four of these on my site. So, since we don't have a proper understanding of the mechanics involved with much confidence yet, we don't yet know what it would take to prevent them.
Here's what Dyson says on the topic:
We do not know how to answer the most important question: do our human activities in general, and our burning of fossil fuels in particular, make the onset of the next ice-age [sic] more likely or less likely? [...]
Until the causes of ice-ages are understood, we cannot know whether the increase of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing or decreasing the danger.
I do not believe this is contrary to any "scientific consensus" on the topic. Where is this supposed "scientific consensus" of which you speak?
Melting the ice caps is inevitably an extremely slow process - due to thermal inertia. It is also widely thought to be a runaway positive feedback cycle - and so probably a phenomenon that it would be difficult to control the rate of.
Melting of the icecaps is now confirmed to be a runaway positive feedback process pretty much beyond a shadow of a doubt. Within the last few years, melting has occurred at a rate that exceeded the upper limits of our projection margins.
Have you performed calculations on what it would take to avert the next glacial period on the basis of any of the competing models, or did you just assume that ice ages are bad, so preventing them is good and we should thus work hard to prevent reglaciation? There's a reason why your site is the first and possibly only only result in online searches for support of preventing glaciation, and it's not because you're the only one to think of it
Ideally, I'd like to save the world. One way to do that involves contributing academic research, which raises the question of what's the most effective way of doing that.
The traditional wisdom says if you want to do research, you should get a job in a university. But for the most part the system seems to be set up so that you first spend a long time working for someone else and research their ideas, after which you can lead your own group, but then most of your time will be spent on applying for grants and other administrative trivia rather than actually researching the interesting stuff. Also, in Finland at least, all professors need to also spend time doing teaching, so that's another time sink.
I suspect I would have more time to actually dedicate on research, and I could get doing it quicker, if I took a part-time job and did the research in my spare time. E.g. the recommended rates for a freelance journalist in Finland would allow me to spend a week each month doing work and three weeks doing research, of course assuming that I can pull off the freelance journalism part.
What (dis)advantages does this have compared to the traditional model?
Some advantages:
Some disadvantages:
EDIT: Note that while I certainly do appreciate comments specific to my situation, I posted this over at LW and not Discussion because I was hoping the discussion would also be useful for others who might be considering an academic path. So feel free to also provide commentary that's US-specific, say.