So what does it mean to “fall into evaluation?”
That’s today’s cartoon post inspiration from Ann Price via Twitter.
There are lots of social scientists working as evaluators.
Unless you’re in academia it’s hard to be something like a Sociologist professionally. Practical fields like program evaluation and contract research offer a good career path for social science grads.

Professional Sidetracker
If you ask the right question at the right time, you can totally sidetrack a meeting. But if it’s a critical question, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

The tools make the evaluator.
I see a lot of people with certain skillsets get funneled into evaluation or quasi-evaluation roles. Especially those who fall into evaluation from specific roles in non-profits or government agencies.

Sometimes it’s just about filling a need.
People who become evaluators are usually pretty self-aware and good at noticing things other people tend not to see. So sometimes becoming an evaluator is just a response to an existing societal need.

Falling into evaluation is not without its risks.
Some pursuits and programs just don’t make a ton of rational sense. At least rational sense that we can see and measure.

Are you an evaluator? How did you fall into evaluation?
Seriously, I want to know. Do any of these cartoons strike a chord? Let me know in the comments.

“tripping on a logic model” ! ! !
Love these Chris and I relate to all of them…studying social science and learning “research” methods over time led me to evaluation…many of the same skills meant could do data collection, analysis, and write…the rest I learned on the job.
That said…that professional sidetracker cartoon is soooooo true!!! I don’t try to sidetrack but often do 😉
Love it. I ask those critically important questions that derail the group in important yet frustrating ways, which would explain my trajectory from youth development staff to program director of an organization. I think my only wish is that someone would have told me evaluator was a job early on in those meetings. I’m only now realizing that it’s what I really love about the work- continuous improvement cycles and experiential learning environments. Now I wish I would have studied it so I could do it in a more lucrative field. 🙂
OutSTANDing, Chris! I definitely tripped on a logic model (the fall was glorious). You mean I can work with schools on a daily basis in built-in ways to help them identify what’s working, for whom, and make changes they and their students can *see*?! Sign me up. My first program evaluation course in grad school–3 years in–changed what I wanted my life to be. “Critically important but hard to answer questions” = my happy place