The hidden trouble of the existence of scientific research assistants in colleges and universities： the income of status positions is ＂low＂

　　Our reporter Li Yan

　　Recently, China Association for Science and Technology has published a series of survey results on the working and living conditions of scientific researchers, among which one survey result on the living environment of scientific research assistants has been widely concerned by people in the circle. Scientific research assistants are an important part of the team of scientific and technological workers and play an important role in scientific research. However, the survey results show that the ratio of research assistants to researchers in China is low. Among them, low income, few promotion opportunities and lack of attention lead to the lack of talents in the whole industry, and the brain drain is serious.

　　The survey results come from more than 500 survey sites of scientific and technological workers established by China Association for Science and Technology in China. These sites are the only investigation system targeting at scientific and technological workers in China. All the data and information are collected by front-line investigators, and they have attracted much attention because of their wide coverage, reasonable layout, dynamic adjustment and standardization. For a long time, this survey has been regarded as a true and accurate reflection of the real situation of scientific researchers in China.

　　Auxiliary staff = handyman? Very "depressed"

　　Yan Dawei, one of the persons in charge of the survey site of China Association for Science and Technology and a staff member of the Science and Technology Department of Anhui Agricultural University, privately visited several research assistants in his own school. He asked the teachers, "If it is a perfect score, how much would you rate your current working environment?" He was a little surprised by the results. "Some scored an extreme score of 1 point, while others gave about 7 points, but they expressed their dissatisfaction with the status quo. Low income, miscellaneous things and low status are all factors that they are not satisfied with. " Yan Dawei said in an interview with the Science and Technology Daily reporter.

　　In Anhui Agricultural University where Yan Dawei is located, the income of science and auxiliary personnel is "4000&mdash per month; About 5,000 yuan, compared with the income of scientific research personnel, there is a clear gap. "This situation may also represent the general level of science and auxiliary personnel in the country. However, for most auxiliary staff, the low income and the lack of formal staff are still not the main difficulties they face. "Leaders don’t pay attention to it, and the work content is complicated, so it is difficult to get affirmation" is the main factor that affects the enthusiasm of scientific research assistants.

　　According to the survey, only half (52.6%) of the auxiliary staff in the department carry out their work according to the requirements of their post responsibilities, and 26.2% of them are assigned tasks by scientific research managers or temporarily decided by leaders.

　　"There are indeed unclear job responsibilities of science and auxiliary personnel. Their work is very complicated. Equipment management, experimental teaching, experimental materials or equipment procurement, and daily management of laboratories may all be their work. Their contributions in scientific research are often difficult to objectively reflect and judge." Yan Dawei said.

　　For the front-line auxiliary staff, their eager wish is to establish a performance evaluation method to distinguish researchers from auxiliary staff as soon as possible, and the content of the evaluation should be the completion of work tasks, work results and quality.

　　There are almost no promotion channels? Very "heart-stopping"

　　There is little room for promotion and poor career development channels, which is another dilemma faced by science and auxiliary personnel. There are no special evaluation standards and procedures for scientific research assistants, and they generally follow the sequence from experimenter to senior experimenter — — From junior to intermediate and then to deputy senior titles, but it is extremely difficult to upgrade from deputy senior titles to senior titles.

　　Teacher Guo, a laboratory staff member of Suzhou University, told the Science and Technology Daily reporter that the title is very important and difficult for her and her colleagues, and that "the title conversion between research assistants and researchers at the same level is not equal". Yan Dawei also said that in Anhui Agricultural University, the competition for professional titles of science and auxiliary personnel is very fierce, and it is extremely difficult to change jobs, so many science and auxiliary personnel laugh at themselves as "forgotten corners", which has caused some negative emotions.

　　In the survey, nearly 80% (79.5%) of the auxiliary staff think that there are relatively few opportunities for career promotion. Most of the auxiliary staff have received good professional education, and they are mainly masters, but also some doctors and returned students. Although a small number of auxiliary staff are willing to choose a comfortable environment with relatively low work pressure, for most people, the feeling of "the road ahead is slim" makes them very "heart-wrenching". "Most auxiliary staff want to be officers, and they choose this industry only when they have scientific research ideals." Yan Dawei said.

　　How hard is it to improve yourself? Very "chilling"

　　There is no other way, so can you go all out to do scientific research? Unfortunately, this road is not feasible for most auxiliary staff. In many laboratories, assistant staff are not allowed to apply for projects alone. There are also some laboratories, and the auxiliary staff have participated in scientific research, but it is difficult to be reflected in the signature of the results.

　　In the eyes of many people in the industry, on the one hand, some schools and laboratories have failed to give fair scientific research treatment to auxiliary staff, on the other hand, there are also problems that some auxiliary staff’s scientific research level needs to be improved. However, there are not many opportunities for most of the auxiliary staff to improve their professional level.

　　According to the survey results of China Association for Science and Technology, there are few opportunities for on-the-job training of science and auxiliary personnel, and compared with teachers or researchers, science and auxiliary personnel lack opportunities for further study and training. According to the survey results, 43.5% of the auxiliary staff reported that there was no training plan for scientific research auxiliary staff, 27.9% of the auxiliary staff had never received training, and only 28.6% of the auxiliary staff had received training once or twice a year. 51.8% of the auxiliary staff learn or improve their vocational skills mainly by their own exploration or the help of colleagues, 20.9% improve their vocational skills through training in their departments, and only 14.7% improve their vocational skills through training organized by schools.

　　In the interview, Mr. Guo from Suzhou University also pointed out that there are few opportunities for scientific research personnel to train or exchange abroad, and it is very difficult for scientific research personnel to study for a doctorate on the job and improve themselves.

　　Are you not satisfied? The hidden worry of "the mismatch between importance and importance"

　　According to the survey results published by China Association for Science and Technology, 78.2% of researchers think that the role of auxiliary staff in scientific research is "more important" or "very important", and only 4.6% think it is "unimportant" or "very unimportant"; However, in sharp contrast, 51.6% of researchers think that auxiliary staff need to improve their "job-related knowledge and skills" most, and 10.9% of researchers think that auxiliary staff are not qualified for auxiliary work and their professional skills still need to be improved. 66.8% of the auxiliary staff reported that their status and respect in the school were "low" or "very low".

　　On the one hand, everyone thinks that the auxiliary staff is very important, on the other hand, the auxiliary staff is actually not so important; On the one hand, science and auxiliary personnel feel that they are not respected, on the other hand, researchers are not satisfied with the ability and quality of science and auxiliary personnel … … The resulting result is dubbed "love and kill each other" by the insiders.

　　As early as a few years ago, some scholars wrote academic articles, and analyzed that most leaders of scientific research teams in China thought that the service quality of scientific research assistants was not high and they were not satisfied with their work. At the same time, many research assistants have a negative attitude of "muddling along" because of their low treatment and status. Now it seems that this situation has not changed substantially.

　　The relevant person in charge of China Association for Science and Technology told Science and Technology Daily that for a long time, colleges and universities in China lacked the awareness of building full-time auxiliary teams. In recent years, with the rapid development of scientific research, the importance of science and auxiliary work has become increasingly prominent, and colleges and universities have begun to set up full-time science and auxiliary posts. However, there is a lack of long-term development planning and specific measures for how to build and what kind of auxiliary teams, whether at the government level or at the university level, which leads to the phenomenon that auxiliary staff "work is important and their status is low".