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I work for a U.S. government agency, the National Science Foundation (NSF). One might call what I do an alternative career for scientists with Ph.D. degrees. I do not do research, nor do I teach college-level science courses. I administer and manage government research funding programs so that scientists can conduct research to advance their disciplines. All U.S. government agencies that provide research funding based on peer review have these scientist-administrators. Those positions are called program officers at NSF, and program managers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy.

A program officer (PO) is responsible for research proposals submitted to his or her program area throughout the proposal's life cycle. A PO selects appropriate reviewers for each proposal, assembles an expert panel of reviewers, chairs the review panel meeting, makes funding recommendations including the level of funding, and provides feedback to the applicants. In preparation for the review panel meeting, a PO reads all the proposals and their reviews. The PO's primary responsibilities are to ensure fair and thorough review of each proposal and to identify the most meritorious proposals for funding. Once a research proposal is funded, a PO monitors and reviews its progress. In addition to the proposal management function, a PO may be involved in such diverse activities as program development, interagency coordination, establishing science policies, and various outreach programs to the scientific community as well as to the general public. A large portion of a PO's time is spent in communicating with applicants, reviewers, and awardees, which is a primary means for a PO to help the community obtain funding for research.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this job is to see the constant evolution in science as reflected in each new batch of proposals. Reviewing a large number of proposals, it is possible to observe where the science is going, what scientific opportunities are emerging, and what the needs of the scientific community are. A PO can, and in fact does, use this unique vantage point to foster scientific advances by drawing attention to emerging opportunities and unmet needs, and by encouraging communications among individual investigators.

I happened upon this career path almost by accident when I moved to the Washington, DC, area because of my husband's employment. I had naively assumed that I would be able to easily find some position in an area as rich with research and educational institutions as Washington. Little did I know. It took me almost 11 months to start working again. Until I moved here, I had not thought of a non-research position as a career possibility. I had no idea if I would qualify or if I would like it. But, I needed a job and I was not about to let any job opportunity slip by. One of the interviews I had was for a PO for the Developmental Biology Program at NSF. The U.S. government hiring process can take a long time and I did not hear from NSF for months and months after the interview. In the meantime, I was offered, and was more than happy to accept, a temporary research associate position at the Smithsonian Radiation Biology Laboratory. About 6 months later, I received a notice that I had been selected for the position at NSF. I accepted the NSF position for the very practical reasons that it had the potential of becoming permanent and the salary was much better.

To my relief, there was not much of a culture shock when I began working at NSF. All my professional colleagues were biologists and the group resembled a faculty of a biology department at a small college. In those days, biology programs at NSF had three proposal review cycles per year, and we were reviewing over 100 proposals per cycle in each program. Reading all those proposals and listening to the review panel's discussion of them was like being a student in a comprehensive graduate program at a major research university. My scientific horizons expanded quickly beyond my own areas of expertise (plant physiology and biochemistry).

After a year on the job, I felt confident that I could do the job. I found the job as interesting and stimulating as laboratory research. One day I realized that there were very few POs with a plant biology background. I also noticed that I was younger than most of the POs around me. So I concluded that I could be a liaison between the plant biology community and NSF and hoped that young people might find it less intimidating to talk to someone like me. I should note that my decision was reinforced by the mentoring I received from my supervisor at the time, Dr. Mary Clutter, who showed me the difference between being a good PO and a great one.

After 2 years of intensive apprenticeship at NSF, I moved to the USDA's Competitive Research Grants Office (CRGO) to be in charge of one of their five program areas. The CRGO was chronically short-staffed and I was asked to help out many other programs which, over time, included most areas of agricultural research ranging from entomology and wood science to human nutrition. The experience was invaluable in increasing my understanding of agricultural research and the agricultural research community. The standard operating procedures at the CRGO dictated that I would work with a leading scientist borrowed from the research community in managing each program. As a result, I had the opportunity to work closely with over 25 leading plant biologists and a few other scientists during my 9 years at the USDA. It was definitely a highlight of my USDA career.

While I was very happy at the USDA, I realized it was time to move on when NSF invited me back to take part in developing new activities in plant biology. It has been 11 years since I returned to NSF, and those years have been exciting due to the amazing advances in plant biology. I was involved in the establishment and development of the multinationally coordinated Arabidopsis genome research project, creation and management of the Integrative Plant Biology Program, interagency activities in genomics, and the establishment and development of the Plant Genome Research Program. I was also given a 10-month sabbatical at the Institute of Chemical and Physical Research in Japan, which helped our continued efforts to develop closer collaboration between the U.S. and Japanese scientists. My current position at NSF is Division Director for the Division of Biological Infrastructure. I no longer manage directly any of the funding programs, but oversee the operation of all the programs in the Division, as well as the Plant Genome Research Program. In addition, a division director at NSF participates in broader management activities such as budget development and establishing policies.

As in any job, there are moments of frustration with being a government research program administrator. There are times when I wish I had my own foundation, run my way. On balance, however, rewards outweigh frustrations. I have had a satisfying career as a research program administrator. A critical element to job satisfaction is to have supportive bosses and colleagues who share common goals. I have been extremely fortunate to have associated with such people at every stage of my career. I have no regrets about my career choice.