As facilitating research continues to increase and broaden, it is important to understand the state of Research Computing and Data (RCD) staffing across the country through more than anecdotal reports. Most institutions are isolated from one another with regards to sharing basic information on staffing roles, position types, and pay grades. Participants in the National Science Foundation Virtual Workshop on the Research Innovation Workforce for Cyberinfrastructure identified recruiting and sustaining a diverse and inclusive workforce as a key challenge for the future of the RCD field, yet no systematic data is currently available on the current composition of the RCD workforce. A breakout group from this workshop created a joined the CaRCC RCD Professionalization Working Group, and set out to better understand quantitatively the state of RCD staffing across the United States by designing, testing, and implementing an RCD workforce survey tool and using that to conduct a national survey. The main objective of this group is to conduct a US national survey of RCD professionals to capture specific information on their personal background, current position, and outlook on RCD as a profession. During the Birds of Feather, the working group will provide an overview of the current state of this work and solicit feedback from the audience on a number of topics.
