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You Might Be a Research Administrator If…

Inspired by a comment in a recent “Secret Life of a Research Administrator” article by Sandra Justice, the Catalyst Committee started wondering if you could finish the phrase: “You might be a research administrator if…” Here’s what we came up with, tell us what you think! 

You might be a research administrator if… 

…you know what a research administrator is.
…your clients are physicians, lawyers, physicists, astronomers, historians, musicians, microbiologists, geneticists, data scientists, engineers, astrophysicists, biochemists, pharmacologists, veterinarians, dentists, nurses, philosophers, authors, political scientists, biologists, environmental scientists, teachers, architects…
…you know Fastlane isn’t just the far-left lane on the interstate.
…90% of your sentences contain acronyms.
…you care more about whether it’s 5:00 local time than 5:00 somewhere.
…you have experienced “Deadline Day Drama” (DDD) because a sponsor’s system crashed before you received a principal investigator’s final proposal for submission. (Fortunately, the deadline was extended!)
…you don’t freak out at short deadlines.
…you’ve accidentally spelled “inspires” as “NSPIRES.”
…a friend tells you they bought some equipment, and you catch yourself wondering if it cost more than $5,000 and has a useful life of a year or more.
…you see a paw print logo and have a flashback to the Procurement “Claw.”
…you overuse the word “titrate.”
…you receive multiple proposals a day but none of them are for you.
…when your personal budget includes salary escalation!
…you can “eye” a half inch margin.

Tell us what you think!