Do you like being a scientist?

Question: Do you like being a scientist?

Asked by tjb27194 to Andrew, Emma, Marianne on 14 Jun 2010 in Categories: Scientist. This question was also asked by spudlington1, cellman, cabbage, nathanlee, buzzers, jb1994, jb19tg27bk4, anon-5559.
- Andrew Maynard answered on 12 Jun 2010:
  
  Hi tjb27194
  
  Best job in the world!
- Marianne Baker answered on 13 Jun 2010:
  
  Sometimes!
  
  I’m quite early in my career so compared to lecturers and supervisors with their own labs to run, I’m still getting used to it.
  
  Sometimes it is very rewarding; if you get a good publication because of a lot of hard work, if someone finds something really exciting or you get an idea that explains things you’ve been confused by for ages…
  
  But sometimes it’s difficult. If things don’t work out (sometimes the lab fairy just ruins your experiments for no good reason!) for a long time it’s very demoralising and can be difficult to pick yourself up and be motivated.
  
  I think that happens in a lot of careers though, not just science. It’s a good skill to be able to look on the bright side, to keep going, use the support of friends, colleagues and family and move on to better things.
  
  I think one of the best things about science is that there is no limit – we don’t know how many things we don’t know, so that’s a lot of potential for discovery!
- Emma Pilgrim answered on 14 Jun 2010:
  
  Like any job it has its good and bad days. The thing I do like about being a scientist is the opportunity to be creative and explore the world, at different scales from a microscopic bacteria to a beautiful hay meadow full of a wide variety of grasses and herbs
- anon answered on 14 Jun 2010:
  
  This changes on a daily basis. The day I came in to discover a clever microscope had made a beautiful video of my cell of interest’s behaviour overnight while I slept I was delighted. When I found out that all the RNA I had carefully isolated had been lost to a malfunctioning freezer I was gutted. The day I found out someone had plagiarised my work I was incandescent with rage ( well peeved anyway but incandescent is a lovely word..:).)
  
  On balance it’s a good job and there’s lots of opportunity.
- anon answered on 14 Jun 2010:
  
  Hi tjb27194. It certainly is interesting as each day can be different with regards to what you are asked to comment on – the environment is such a big topic area. You’ll also find in science that everyone has their own theory and opinion on something and they don’t always agree so you end up hunting around for what is accepted as the general opinion of the moment (which may change again tomorrow!). However, when you meet new people, it can be a bit of conversation stopper when they ask you what you do for a living but hopefully this competition might dispell a few myths about us scientists!:)

Question: Do you like being a scientist?

Comments