General Discussions

Hey all,

Inspired by a nurse friend who told me the reputation of every kind of doctor, I thought I'd ask what you think are some stereotypes about folks in the research administration profession! I'd love to hear what some folks from outside the US think, too, so we can see if there are any differences ( @Louise Bland, @Emma King?). 

And this is completely just for fun. Having had the chance to meet literally hundreds of research administrators, I know there's as much variety there as in any profession.

Hey all,

Inspired by a nurse friend who told me the reputation of every kind of doctor, I thought I'd ask what you think are some stereotypes about folks in the research administration profession! I'd love to hear what some folks from outside the US think, too, so we can see if there are any differences ( @Louise Bland, @Emma King?). 

And this is completely just for fun. Having had the chance to meet literally hundreds of research administrators, I know there's as much variety there as in any profession.

Hey all,

Inspired by a nurse friend who told me the reputation of every kind of doctor, I thought I'd ask what you think are some stereotypes about folks in the research administration profession! I'd love to hear what some folks from outside the US think, too, so we can see if there are any differences ( @Louise Bland, @Emma King?). 

And this is completely just for fun. Having had the chance to meet literally hundreds of research administrators, I know there's as much variety there as in any profession.

What a fun topic, Simon!

I will throw in two thoughts that immediately came to mind: the first is that we are simply "button pushers". Earlier in my career timeline, that would have been "paper pushers," however the deployment of Cayuse re-branded us from pushing paper to pushing buttons. Oh, but if it could be that simple! Nothing beyond simply pushing a single button all day. 

A second, and more concerning thought, is that research administrators are sometimes considered "obstructionists." One of the most important aspects of our collective jobs is to assure our investigators and their teams are compliant and are following the many rules that govern proposal submission, award acceptance, and post-award administration. We encounter some investigators who believe we take pleasure in disallowing or denying. Nothing could be further from the truth and, in fact, those scenarios typically create more work to remedy. Saying "no" doesn't benefit any of us. However, it can keep our investigators and our institutions in good standing.   

Hey all,

Inspired by a nurse friend who told me the reputation of every kind of doctor, I thought I'd ask what you think are some stereotypes about folks in the research administration profession! I'd love to hear what some folks from outside the US think, too, so we can see if there are any differences ( @Louise Bland, @Emma King?). 

And this is completely just for fun. Having had the chance to meet literally hundreds of research administrators, I know there's as much variety there as in any profession.

@Gina Hedberg I had to jump in here because your post resonated so much with me! I distinctly remember a time in my Research Admin experience when a Researcher said to me, "Why do you need things so early, all you do is push submit!" It has stuck with me all these years. I believe I typed up a novella about why that wasn't the case and then ended up deleting it because, well, customer service and all that fun stuff. To me, this is one of the biggest misconceptions about Research Administration!

What a fun topic, Simon!

I will throw in two thoughts that immediately came to mind: the first is that we are simply "button pushers". Earlier in my career timeline, that would have been "paper pushers," however the deployment of Cayuse re-branded us from pushing paper to pushing buttons. Oh, but if it could be that simple! Nothing beyond simply pushing a single button all day. 

A second, and more concerning thought, is that research administrators are sometimes considered "obstructionists." One of the most important aspects of our collective jobs is to assure our investigators and their teams are compliant and are following the many rules that govern proposal submission, award acceptance, and post-award administration. We encounter some investigators who believe we take pleasure in disallowing or denying. Nothing could be further from the truth and, in fact, those scenarios typically create more work to remedy. Saying "no" doesn't benefit any of us. However, it can keep our investigators and our institutions in good standing.   

Hey all,

Inspired by a nurse friend who told me the reputation of every kind of doctor, I thought I'd ask what you think are some stereotypes about folks in the research administration profession! I'd love to hear what some folks from outside the US think, too, so we can see if there are any differences ( @Louise Bland, @Emma King?). 

And this is completely just for fun. Having had the chance to meet literally hundreds of research administrators, I know there's as much variety there as in any profession.

@Gina Hedberg I had to jump in here because your post resonated so much with me! I distinctly remember a time in my Research Admin experience when a Researcher said to me, "Why do you need things so early, all you do is push submit!" It has stuck with me all these years. I believe I typed up a novella about why that wasn't the case and then ended up deleting it because, well, customer service and all that fun stuff. To me, this is one of the biggest misconceptions about Research Administration!

What a fun topic, Simon!

I will throw in two thoughts that immediately came to mind: the first is that we are simply "button pushers". Earlier in my career timeline, that would have been "paper pushers," however the deployment of Cayuse re-branded us from pushing paper to pushing buttons. Oh, but if it could be that simple! Nothing beyond simply pushing a single button all day. 

A second, and more concerning thought, is that research administrators are sometimes considered "obstructionists." One of the most important aspects of our collective jobs is to assure our investigators and their teams are compliant and are following the many rules that govern proposal submission, award acceptance, and post-award administration. We encounter some investigators who believe we take pleasure in disallowing or denying. Nothing could be further from the truth and, in fact, those scenarios typically create more work to remedy. Saying "no" doesn't benefit any of us. However, it can keep our investigators and our institutions in good standing.   

Hey all,

Inspired by a nurse friend who told me the reputation of every kind of doctor, I thought I'd ask what you think are some stereotypes about folks in the research administration profession! I'd love to hear what some folks from outside the US think, too, so we can see if there are any differences ( @Louise Bland, @Emma King?). 

And this is completely just for fun. Having had the chance to meet literally hundreds of research administrators, I know there's as much variety there as in any profession.

Hey all,

Inspired by a nurse friend who told me the reputation of every kind of doctor, I thought I'd ask what you think are some stereotypes about folks in the research administration profession! I'd love to hear what some folks from outside the US think, too, so we can see if there are any differences ( @Louise Bland, @Emma King?). 

And this is completely just for fun. Having had the chance to meet literally hundreds of research administrators, I know there's as much variety there as in any profession.

Hi, Simon,

I've always thought this image nicely summed up others' perceptions about the IRB:

Hey all,

Inspired by a nurse friend who told me the reputation of every kind of doctor, I thought I'd ask what you think are some stereotypes about folks in the research administration profession! I'd love to hear what some folks from outside the US think, too, so we can see if there are any differences ( @Louise Bland, @Emma King?). 

And this is completely just for fun. Having had the chance to meet literally hundreds of research administrators, I know there's as much variety there as in any profession.

Hey all,

Inspired by a nurse friend who told me the reputation of every kind of doctor, I thought I'd ask what you think are some stereotypes about folks in the research administration profession! I'd love to hear what some folks from outside the US think, too, so we can see if there are any differences ( @Louise Bland, @Emma King?). 

And this is completely just for fun. Having had the chance to meet literally hundreds of research administrators, I know there's as much variety there as in any profession.

Hey all,

Inspired by a nurse friend who told me the reputation of every kind of doctor, I thought I'd ask what you think are some stereotypes about folks in the research administration profession! I'd love to hear what some folks from outside the US think, too, so we can see if there are any differences ( @Louise Bland, @Emma King?). 

And this is completely just for fun. Having had the chance to meet literally hundreds of research administrators, I know there's as much variety there as in any profession.