• Question: what's it like being a scientist

    Asked by charlottelidster to Chris, Eva, Michael, Paddy, Philip on 13 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Philip Denniff

      Philip Denniff answered on 11 Jun 2011:

      Doing something I enjoy and have a passion for. I have added some small bits to the human knowledge of science. I hope others will pick them up and make something bigger out of them.

    • Photo: Michael Wharmby

      Michael Wharmby answered on 11 Jun 2011:

      Very much like doing any other job!
      It’s fun sometimes when you see a problem you’ve been working on solved and also when you look at all the work you’ve been doing and piece together a story.
      But there are also bad days when things just don’t work. Or your boss keeps giving you things to do when you already have a todo list as long as your arm.
      I *really* enjoy my job though, so I wouldn’t swap it for the world – it’s challenging and fun, and the good bits and opportunities for enthusiasm make up for the annoying bits 😀

    • Photo: Paddy Brock

      Paddy Brock answered on 12 Jun 2011:

      Overall, it’s great. It can be frustrating, slow and boring but most of the time it’s wonderful. In a position like mine you have amazing freedom and independence, which can be scary but is unusual. Very few of my friends enjoy their jobs as much as I enjoy my PhD.

    • Photo: Chris Jordan

      Chris Jordan answered on 12 Jun 2011:

      Probably a lot more computer work than most people imagine when they’re at school. But that’s something I like too. (A lot of astronomers don’t even get to visit telescopes in wild places now, you can arrange all the observations from your desk.) It’s still a great job though.

    • Photo: Eva Bachmair

      Eva Bachmair answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      It is a job and it is also more than a job. You have to love what you are doing or you won’t last long. There are the fun sides of it: going to conferences and travel to different countries and mostly your boss is paying the expenses. But you need to give presentations and speak in front of many other scientists who sometimes ask very tricky questions you are supposed to answer.
      There are the moments of joy when you get good results and everything is working and of frustration when nothing goes together and you have not the foggiest what went wrong.
      The good thing is: the next day is always a new day.

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