graduate researcher

research assistant

postdoctoral associate

graduate assistant

assistant professor

University of Florida

The interview/recruiting process was good, Talent Management seemed well organized and from my first contact to start the interview process, then virtual interview to in person visit to job offer was just over two months.  UF and Gainesville as a college town is a “neat” place to be.  UF pride is everywhere.  Gainesville is a small city (although busting at the seams with all the construction – and corresponding traffic), so that can be an adjustment to someone relocating from a larger city.  Stores and restaurants could be closed on certain days and you won’t have near as many social/cultural opportunities (concerts, shows, etc).  The Gainesville Region Airport is more or less a small jet/single airstrip – so factor in a 1.5-2 hour drive to JAX, MCO or TPA when you want to get anywhere or have family/friends visiting.

Working in advancement/fundraising at UF, on the surface, is a good job.  Central administration at the UF Foundation seems like a good group of leaders – there is definitely a ‘type’ that are molded/promoted into senior roles.  For front line fundraisers, they do a good job of keeping everyone aware (broadly) of UF wide priorities with the monthly MGO meetings and quarterly all-staff gatherings. 

Depending on which school/college you are working in and the position for which you are hired, job satisfaction can vary greatly.  I spent 4 years working in development within UF Health.  I experienced regular turnover in senior leadership within UF Health Development with 4 different senior leaders in those years – the last being the CDO from the foundation (with zero grateful patient fundraising experience).  My first direct report (my report later shifted to the AVPs, and that revolving door) was to a senior director, who had zero managerial skills. New to UF, I was given a tour of Shands and the COM buildings by this person and was joined on introductory meetings with faculty/doctors I’d be supporting – twice.  Yes, twice…two one-on-one occasions.  And although this person did know and had had contact with a number of donors/prospects in my portfolio, not once was an introductory call/offer to join on a discovery or stewardship visit made.  And the idea of me accompanying on a visit with them (or any shadowing on a presentation/event) was never offered.  We had no weekly/bi-weekly/monthly check-in meetings and this person wouldn’t even bother to tell me if they were taking time off – be it a day or two or one time it was a 10 day vacation.  I quickly realized why chatter at Health development staff meetings included jokes about my manager’s anti-socialness.

Just like anywhere, UF uses fundraising metrics (dollars raised, number of visits, number of proposals, etc) to evaluate performance, but in my time I saw that the outcomes for those metrics could be handled differently.  Three gift officers with similar performance metrics – 1 was given more responsibility, 1 got a “transfer” to another school and 1 was laid off.  It isn’t too hard to fly under the radar and in general the expectations/metrics are in line and achievable. 

As best you can, do your due diligence regarding the portfolio you’ll be taking over and who the active major donors to your program have been.  Until coming to UF, I had never experienced an organization where the relationship management function for a major gift donor/prospect does not stay with the gift officer that covers that department.  Every top donor to my areas of responsibility – because another gift officer has worked with them at some point (usually because of luck, they just happened to be handed to them because there was no gift officer covering my area at the time…and they didn’t want to give them up because they continue to be regular donors to my areas) – was off-limits to me.  In some instances, I was told by someone in advancement or the faculty member specifically to have NO contact.  The result…in addition to major gifts coming to my areas that I’m not working with/getting credit for, my faculty members continued regular interaction to discuss priorities/strategy with other gift officers, meetings I was not even thought to be included on.  Oh, and no surprise - if a donor to your area is also on the radar of athletics….forget it, you’ll never be their relationship manager.


4. Data Entry and Basic Computer Skills
	Most of my other skills are about dealing with people, but I have some customer service skills that are about things I need to do for the company. In nearly all cases, I was trained to know how to work with some sort of computer program that needs me to record data about my call. Moreover, I can type quickly so that customers do not have to wait, and I do understand the basics of using a computer and software so that I can properly perform my job.
5. Understanding Human Psychology
	While everyone is certainly different, there are commonalities among us as human beings. For those who take the time to study at least some basic psychology, the job of helping people over the phone is much easier to do. This can often help me defuse tense situations and anticipate what a customer wants before he or she verbalizes it. I fully acknowledge that this is one of my many skills that can impress customers and my superiors alike. Furthermore, I did take many classes in human psychology as an undergraduate.
6. Basic Acting Skills
	The fact is, sometimes in order to maintain professionalism, I know that I am going to have to put on a mask of friendliness and concern. This does not mean I am attempting to deceive anyone for a nefarious purpose as I am naturally a cordial and empathetic individual, but it is important for me to know how to keep my calmness and professionalism in both stressful, problematic, and ambiguous situations. Therefore, even if a customer's malevolent attitude is irritating , it is not appropriate to act irritated.  Therefore, I have basic acting skills that can help me present certain information in a more cheerful and upbeat tone, make sure my body language and facial expressions convey what I mean to say and generally help me to get into the mindset I must be in so that I can do my job well. This skill also helps me to get through various awkward situations, such as staying calm and poise even when I am being insulted by a customer.

As an IT professional, the day began early with a check on the health of the in-office file, database and web servers, the nightly backups and the overall network health.

Daily tasks involved responding to desktop support requests, evaluating and ordering new hardware and software, collaborating with Information Security personnel regarding audits, and assisting with the implementation of any major IT projects (such as web-site development, CME course testing, IT technical support to clients, etc.).

Through the mentoring of the previous IT Systems Programmer / Analyst, much was learned about the unique networking and IT needs of the Self-Insurance Program, and how it complemented or contrasted with other University departments.  Additional Linux server-management, Group Policy manipulation and database interaction skills were gained or refined.

Associate Directors were, for the most part, knowledgeable and helpful, often taking a more direct role than managers normally do.  Co-workers were friendly and willing to lend, or accept, assistance.  Many co-workers knew each other outside of the office, creating a sort of extended family atmosphere.

The most difficult part of the job would be attempting to maintain aging equipment, and attempting to acquire new equipment under very strict budget constraints, as well as State-mandated budget cuts.

The most enjoyable part of the job normally came after a particularly difficult, or long-standing, problem was evaluated and overcome.  Seeing a co-worker smile and be able to return to work without being hampered by glitches or insufficient resources was quite fulfilling.

The subject matter for this job is already hard, but to top it off you have to deal with management who can be passive-aggressive and demand unrealistic expectations. There are 7 on call days to the forensic interviewers 2-3 on call days a month and no work life balance. When you go to management for help they gaslight you. Four people put in their resignation letters everyday of the same week and another person was fired recently. The morale is gone and once you start this job please do not stay long. Management plays favorites, the salaries are unequal for the amount of work you do and we were constantly told there's no training for a job like this. You get subpoenaed to court, have to deal with Law Enforcement, DCF and other agencies but there's no training available. It doesn't make sense. Please take caution when applying to this department, there is a reason the turnover is so high right now. Everyone is burnt out, I've had to witness my coworkers in TEARS its not a good place to work. Please pay attention to the salary range, they are gonna try to add all these new Case Coordinators at a lower salary with increased job duties. VOCA position makes $40K now and the forensic interviewers were at $51K now, but the recent hires they added as forensic interviewers are only making $42-43K compared to $51K for the same amount of work. There's also no room to move up as well, and when u do move up it takes YEARS. This is the worst management I've ever had. Please take heed and pass on this job and if you do decide to take this job please do not stay long.

Laboratory work and field research were the main factors of this job. I along with any colleagues/fellow researchers would collect samples, generate data and review. Reports were compiled and submitted. New questions were acquired and the process started over.

I was given a broad set of responsibilities and learned about research in the soil and water fields. I also learned a great deal about Lab management, Team management as well as data and material management.

The management system was simple with one or two overhead. I was given a set of goals to meet, often with a time frame, sometimes without.for each project I worked towards the goals set before me and balanced the other projects on the time frame allotted. I worked either with a team where I was to make sure each got their assignment done or by myself.

Most of my co-workers were good researchers with various goals all moving towards a single end; quality results.

The hardest part of the job was managing several projects at once, and overcoming various issues with time, equipment and personnel limitations as well as the various other agencies with which we collaborated. Sometimes there would not be a set time frame for the results or the time frame would be convoluted by field research limitations such as weather. This made deadline tough, but they were still met.

The most enjoyable part was that field research often took place in remote areas of Florida. These areas had unique beauty and extreme limitations on access. These limitations required exciting equipment like air boats.

I started in late July of 2019 and in August it was slammed. New students, new faculty, which there was an initiative to bring in 600 plus more new faculty members. During August it was chaos as we had to review, update, approve, and terminate thousands of people and their records. No matter how busy it got though and being I was the newest member to the department, every single person who I work with was open, kind, and understanding with helping me with any and all questions I had. My manager wants all people in her department to learn as much as they can so they can move on to bigger things in life, if they choose. No matter if they stay with the university of move on to small or large companies, she pushes us to challenge ourselves, to think for ourselves, to help each other, and to be absolutely the best we can be so others learn by example. Being in Human Resources is where I want to be, it's the behind the scenes aspect that many people don't even think about. It's the backbone of a company because HR finds the talent, they educate the talent as to how the company/institution runs, but they also learn from the talent as to how to be more diverse and change with the times as well. I love working in UF's HR department. It's the absolute best and a dream for me to be able to start down the path I want to forge for myself. I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given and I plan to keep with it and learn all I can.

Verify completeness of registration information, Input patient demographic information utilizing registration in automated billing system, Assure appropriate CPT and ICD-9 codes are utilized for each patient encounter, Identify payer source and code appropriately, Key patient charge information into automated billing system, Contact insurance companies on a daily basis to ascertain the status of unpaid claims and identify additional information necessary to process payment, Document notes in the billing system (Paperless Collection System-PCS) regarding patient inquiries, conversations with insurance companies, clinics, etc. on the status of claims payment, Re-file insurance claims when necessary to the appropriate insurance carrier, Complete correspondence requests through interaction with payers, patients and/or clinics to provide needed information for claims payment, Identify payer issues and work with Team Leader to resolve identified problems with claims payment, Assist customer service representatives as necessary in answering telephone calls from patients and their representatives to address issues with outstanding claims and patient balances, Inform Team Leader on the status of work and alert Team Leader of backlogs or issues requiring immediate attention, Identify trends in A/R by payer as well as turnaround times by payment source, and Perform special projects assigned by the Team Leader, All other duties as assigned by Team Leader or Manager.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part was working at one of the nation's leading public research university and all that entails: most everyone I worked with and interacted with was first-rate and the research and teaching I saw or worked on was top-notch as well.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Computer issues. I am pretty good with computers and even have worked in IT before, but sometimes there were computing issues not fixed rapidly (or no one knew how to fix) which hindered my own work.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Overall, very good. A respectful environment, modern, clean, buildings, suitable office space. Coworkers tend to respect each other and everyone's own unique areas of expertise, as do managers. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I had two positions at UF: one with the research arm of the Harn Museum of Art and another as a tutor for UF student athletes. In the research capacity, I spent days typically researching specific themes and issue in Korean art as directed by the curator of Asian art. At the tutoring center, I spent most days in hour-long tutoring sessions with individual student athletes or teaching small classes in review information settings. Some tutoring days could run long, with taking an hour break around seven for supper (at the student dining hall—pretty good food, too) and returning to tutor until ten or so.

I was one of fifteen Admissions staff members who resigned in less than one year, all citing the same Top 5 reasons: extreme turnover, chaotic communication, lack of accountability, lack of transparency, lack of warmth. I experienced a toxic daily workplace, at a UF Admissions office plagued by unbelievably high turnover. I experienced consistently poor communication, an alarming lack of transparency, and narcissistic leaders. Rather than receiving thank-yous or praise, our team of hardworking magic-makers were literally called Eeyores---despite consistently going above and beyond to repeatedly make magic happen even while surrounded by constant chaos. I witnessed a significant lack of self-accountability and compassion by management. Leaders consistently demonstrated disregard for staff morale and well-being, and an unwillingness to change. I cannot recommend UF Admissions for professionals who value transparency, authenticity, integrity, empathy, emotional intelligence, and warmth. Our leaders walked right past me and literally did not speak one single word to me in my entire final month after I resigned, nor thank me or ask why I’m leaving (much less ask what they can do to improve the culture for future employees).

UF is an amazing employer. The benefits are unbeatable. Decent pay depending on the department you work in. The structure allows for amazing growth opportunities. The only problem is the political/management aspect. Depending on your department management you can still run into the same unhealthy toxic environment you see in corporate America just with a little more job security. UF wants to avoid lawsuits and negative images so they have to at least abide by some moral values, however, if you do run into issues things aren't necessarily going to be resolved. HR only "recommends" actions, it falls on the next in the hierarchy to actually decide how to handle it and that can often mean its ignored. Hopefully as the poor leadership moves out, they will be replaced with actual good leaders. President Fuchs seems nice but not happy with the state approved low 1.5% raises which have now been pushed back to January instead of 3-4% beginning with the fiscal year as they used to. Aside from that, UF is better than most other employers out there due to all the perks and the exciting environment of working with great students.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Graduate researcher 37 salaries reported	$30,073 per year
Research assistant 32 salaries reported	$18.33 per hour
Postdoctoral associate 155 salaries reported	$60,155 per year
Graduate assistant 24 salaries reported	$26,234 per year
Assistant professor 52 salaries reported	$115,798 per year

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