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Asked by anon-251207 to Sophie, Delma, Siddharth, James, Connor, Arun on 22 Apr 2020. This question was also asked by anon-251882.
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Delma Childers answered on 22 Apr 2020:
It can be really fun! No two days are ever the same, so I find I wear many ‘hats’ during a week – teacher, scientist, troubleshooter, IT support, friend, administrator, etc… I try to work normal job hours, but sometimes experiments run long or need to start early. I’d say the thing many scientists have in common is general curiosity about the world and an ability to adapt as the situation requires.
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Sophie Arthur answered on 23 Apr 2020:
Great question. Being a scientist is great. You get to do research and ask questions that noone else has done before and be the first person in the world to find the answer. You can help solve some of the world’s biggest problems or you can help to understand the world we live in right now and contribute more and more knowledge. It really is great.
There are loads of different roles a scientist can have. For example, I work in science communication. I dont do research anymore but I work with researchers to share their latest discoveries with the world by making videos, writing articles, recording podcasts, making activities to bring to events and more. All so we can share the new knowledge.
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James Loan answered on 5 May 2020:
Being a scientist can be great fun and is tremendously varied. It can also be quite hard at times: things often don’t work first time around and you need to be flexible to try out new ways to solve problems when your first attempt doesn’t work. But if you like a challenge then this is fun in itself. I think one of the ways that science is particularly enjoyable is that by contributing to how we understand the world we are helping people. This is enormously rewarding in a way that many other jobs aren’t and, for me, makes all the stress worthwhile.
Many people who train in science find that their skills are useful to other jobs also – for example in business, art and healthcare.
Comments
William commented on :
It’s really fun! I ended up getting into science just because I enjoyed it at school. I kept chosing the subjects I liked and eventually ended up doing my PhD in a field I find really interesting. In that respect and as Delma said, no two days are the same as you are always finding out new things. As long as whatever job you do you enjoy you should find it fun!
Donna commented on :
No way is it like a normal job… I usually say that it is like being self-employed… a lot of your success in science is driven by your efforts, your ideas, your analysis and some luck!
What’s great is that your days are always different! So if you get bored easily, it is a great job!
Freya commented on :
I agree with Donna – being a scientist and running a research lab is like being self-employed and running a small business. You have to direct your own work, recruit a good team with diverse strengths, manage and train your team well, and communicate what you’re doing to the right people. So you have a lot of independence. This is brilliant because you set your own goals and do what interests you – but also stressful at times because, ultimately, you’re the person who has to solve problems and make things work.
Lindsay commented on :
It’s good fun being a scientist. I decide what I want to do in the lab and then do it. Even though I work in industry, I still plan my own work. No 2 days are the same – I fix machines when they break down, I put on reactions, I analyse data and I do some computer modelling.
Freya commented on :
I think it’s important to say that sometimes, being a scientist is boring. There are days where you have to spend hours counting bacterial colonies, or labelling tiny tubes, or filling in risk assessments for new work. And sometimes weeks or months where you have repeat and repeat troublesome experiments until they work. BUT! The boring bits all contribute to a big picture that’s exciting – everything you find is new, and you never quite know just what a new observation or result will lead to in the future.