how is it to be a scientist

Question: how is it to be a scientist
- Keywords:
  scientist
Asked by danielleh to Charlie, Eoin, Jemma, Julian, Steve on 14 Mar 2011.
- Eoin Lettice answered on 12 Mar 2011:
  
  Hi. Thanks for your question.
  It’s actually pretty good being a scientist. I can genuinely say that I go to work everyday looking forward to finding out something new and teaching others about science.
  While most scientists focus on quite a specific area to study, most also have a wider interest in the scientific world and that’s a world where there is always something new to learn and there is always some new, exciting breakthrough happening.
  Being a scientist is fun!
  
  Eoin.
- Charlie Ryan answered on 13 Mar 2011:
  
  Hullo thanks for the Q danielleh!
  How do if find it to be a scientist?? mmm..tricky. Generally it’s enjoyable, fascinating, and rewarding. But i won’t lie, it can also be deeply frustrating, hard work and sometimes even tedious! When you’ve spent a week in a lab trying to get something to work, with no luck, then you do wonder why am i bothering. But when it does work WOW it really is the best feeling!! And thankfully this happens frequently enough to stop you going crazy!!
- Stephen Moss answered on 13 Mar 2011:
  
  Hi danielleh
  I LOVE being a scientist. I’m sure lots of people will tell you that you can earn a better living in other walks of life, which is true, but there’s a very high level of job satisfaction. One of the best things is that no-one tells me what to do. It was my choice to work on blindness, and exactly what I do is 100% up to me. So not only do I choose my own interests, being a scientist also allows me to decide *how* I work. Some days (if I have no meetings), if I feel like it, I work at home. And i might decide to start work at 7.00 a.m. one day, and 11.00 a.m. then next. Some days I leave work at 4.00, other days at 8.00 p.m.
  
  I suppose you could say that being a scientist allows you to earn a living doing things that you’d do anyway just for fun.
- Julian Rayner answered on 13 Mar 2011:
  
  Sometimes it probably feels like any other job – deadlines, pressures, too much to do. Most of the time though, it is just a huge thrill and privilege – exciting, challenging, great fun. On the best days, when you or the people working with you are discovering things that noone else on earth knows the answer to, I can’t imagine a better job on the planet.
- Jemma Ransom answered on 14 Mar 2011:
  
  Of course I am biased, but I think being a scientist is great. I get to design and perform my own experiments, present my work at conferences, and write and publish papers (if everything goes to plan). But at the same time I don’t work alone, I am part of a team of scientists that all work together to enhance understanding of how the brain works.

Question: how is it to be a scientist

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