That isn’t true. Research staff is funded via grants almost exclusively, in computer science. I’m not sure about the sciences, but I would assume they would have a lot of labs that are not set up for education and would be funded mostly by grants.

Well, I'm the parent of a biochemistry lab tech currently selecting Phd project admits, but, I don't know, maybe my kid is making up that he's paid out of admin.

Or he could just be honestly wrong.

Just because some lab techs are admin doesn’t mean they all are.

This sounds like maybe this is an undergrad student? There's something called REU (Research Experience for Undergrads) that is issued in general to a university and then the university administers it to undergrads. But it is still a grant. Here's an example by the National Science Foundation: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/reu

Nope. It's just a full-time job. He's even in the state pension system for it. He graduated a couple years ago.

/shrug

thanks for correcting me.

This is true in physics and geo as well.

Lab techs are often classified as “administrative and professional” employees by university HR but on NIH grants they would be paid for as a direct cost, other personnel (B on the R&R budget form).

I think “core” facilites can be handled a bit differently.

There are certainly NIH mechanisms for supporting them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them are partially supported—-or at least backstopped—-by indirects…

Yes, this is so. Ideally, you’d see a mix of direct support (e.g., a core as part of a large site grant like a U54) for things that advance the state of the art and indirect support for core activities supporting other investigators. Institutions vary how they manage core facilities as cost centers, what level they’re administered at (unit or uni-wide).

Computer clusters, chem or bio lab gear, staff and techs, …. Some of this isn’t cheap and it’s not safe to let the grad students and p-docs do it. And somebody has to TA all those pre-xx and other mid to advanced course students.