The genius researcher won't get hired—here's why
A friend at another institution recently told me about their latest hiring process. They passed on an eccentric genius—someone with amazing research, but, as my friend put it, 'They're not gonna do their fair share of admin, are they? And imagine putting them in front of the students. Jesus!'
'What would that do for the NSS?' She continued, 'They literally said during the interview that they "don't mind" teaching!'
It got me thinking back to the days when universities hired the "genius" researcher. You know, the one who could revolutionise a field but couldn't teach a room without sending half the students home crying or handle admin without setting their office on fire? Those days are long gone, at least here in the UK.
I get it—no one wants to pick up the slack for a colleague who refuses to do any admin or won't pull their weight with teaching. But are we sacrificing something in the process? What does it mean for our universities when the best researcher, the one who could push boundaries and create real impact, gets overlooked because they don't fit neatly into the "all-rounder" mould?
At the same time, I don't know whether I'd have wanted this candidate either. It's not just about research excellence anymore; it's about ticking all the boxes. But maybe it's time to ask ourselves if we're prioritising the wrong things and if the division of labour is all messed up. Shouldn't the university system support a balance where both genius researchers and all-rounders can thrive? Or, better yet, let's leave the admin to the pros and properly pay professional services staff to handle it.
And while I'm at it, why is there even an admin glass ceiling (capped at Grade 8 for most)? How are we still capping their pay while dumping even more work on them?
Maybe it's time to let academics focus on what we're good at—teaching and research—and leave the admin in the hands of the professionals, who deserve to be properly paid for it. Most of us are terrible at marketing, running committees, or organising anything at all, so why are we still juggling this mess?
