• Question: do you enijoy science as a Scientist if you had a choice to stay as a Scientist or a different job what would it b what part of scinence do you do

    Asked by harrislp03 to Prateek, Jim, Amelia, Liz, Richard on 15 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by hainswsj01, thedoctorscompanion, libby113, alizahidriskhan, t260599, shanny, kielyb02, baileyec01.
    • Photo: Jim Caryl

      Jim Caryl answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I love what I do and I wouldn’t want to do anything else. However, sometimes we don’t get to choose. If I couldn’t work in a laboratory any more, one thing I would like to do is write about science in a way that non-scientists can understand, so that everyone can hear about the exciting discoveries that are happening. My other choice of career would be photography, I spend a lot of time doing this in my spare time (if I have any!)

    • Photo: Prateek Buch

      Prateek Buch answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      As Jim says, no matter how much we love our job, circumstances sometimes mean we have to try our hand at something else. I’m really interested in how science is represented in politics – the use (or should I say, bad use) of evidence in making decisions about how the country is run really interests me. So I’d really like a chance to show politicians how to use evidence, how to understand scientific research and put it into practice… Heh, just realised Jim like photography – that’s another thing I’d like to do, I’m a decent amateur at the moment but would love the chance to take it up full time 🙂

    • Photo: Lizzard O'Day

      Lizzard O'Day answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Wouldn’t change it for the world. I feel really lucky to have found what I want to do and have the opportunity to do it for a living. Being in the lab is where I get to be creative, use every inch of my brain and just push myself. I’m hooked and I hope to be a cancer researcher for life (or until we cure it).

    • Photo: Amelia Markey

      Amelia Markey answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Well this is a really good question because it’s something I’m having to consider at the moment.

      I really enjoy science and doing what I do. When I finish my PhD I want to carry on with science in some way but I’m not use whether to stick with the same type of research and where to do it. It all depends on what jobs are available. I also really love teaching and writing so I think if I couldn’t be a research scientist then I would either like to teach or maybe be a scientific or medical writer.

    • Photo: Richard Badge

      Richard Badge answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      I think that I’d probably be useless at most other jobs, but also I enjoy science too much to give it up…

      In reality we don’t always have a choice. Science can be expensive and tax-payers – (that’s you, in a few years) have to think that its worth the government spending your money on it. If the government (which funds most science in the UK) decided that my research area was not valuable enough to keep funding it then I guess I’d be a bit stuck…

      Having said that, increasingly science can be done without always doing expensive experiments, particularly by asking questions about data that already exist. The growing freedom of information and the development of computer tools to analyse it make me hopeful that more and more people can contribute great science without it costing a huge amount…

      Richard

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