Monthly Poll | Changes at the Office
How many times have you heard colleagues say that they just fell into research administration? Have you said it about your own career beginnings? I know I have. I applied for a job and found a career. We asked you to share a bit about your education in this field before you entered it, while you’ve been in it and as you’re advancing in it. The majority response to the first question about what research administration education or training you had before you entered your first RA role was to skip the question. Which made me realize that even though I’m one of the many who entered my first grants job without research administration training, I forgot to list that as an option. There were a few of you that did have some training by your supervisor and/or employing institution.
For our second question we asked you to tell us about the education that you have sought out during your career. Just over 75% of respondents answered that their on-the-job education and training has been led by professional organizations, like SRAI; their employers or institutions; their supervisors and from forums and listservs. Very few of you have pursued that academic formal education during your careers. But if you look below, it looks like that number might just go up in the years to come.
For our third question we asked you to tell us what educational opportunities you would consider seeking out in order to advance your career. Just over 40% of respondents said that they would consider an RA degree to advance their career. Honestly, my biggest take away from the results of this question, shown in the green chart, is that as a membership, we are all quite focused on pursuing advancement and willing to use multiple platforms to help us reach those goals. And, with just over 80%, the vast majority of us plan to start that advancement right here with SRAI.
This month we want to hear (and see) from those of you that have returned to the office and found big changes. Is there a new patterned flooring or design feature on campus? New buildings that weren’t there when we left our offices to quarantine? Did your office move to a new location while you were working remotely? Tell us your stories and your photos!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Z39FZLK
Authored by Heather Brown, Grants and Contracts Administrator
Duke Human Vaccine Institute
#Catalyst#August2021#Membership#MonthlyPoll#SRAIMembersRock