• Question: what are the positives and negatives of being a scientist as i want to be one when i am older.

    Asked by anon-355862 on 10 Mar 2023.
    • Photo: Christy Sadler

      Christy Sadler answered on 10 Mar 2023:

      There are so many positives, I really love finding out more about science that can help diagnose different diseases! Sometimes it can be tricky to make progress with a project. This might be because the project isn’t working like you thought it would so you have to try to motivate yourself to keep going even if experiments don’t work!

    • Photo: Martin McCoustra

      Martin McCoustra answered on 11 Mar 2023:

      The positives and negatives will really depend on what type of scientist you become. But some are common to most scientific careers. The common positives include discovering and learning about new things; communicating those new discoveries to other scientists and the public; and getting opportunities to travel to new places to both work and talk about science. As an academic, I also get the positive of helping the next generation of scientists to develop their skills and interests through teaching activities. I suspect the most common negatives relate to doing administrative tasks. Most scientists that I know hate doing paperwork. For academic scientists, there is also the continual struggle to get funds to support your research. This is very competitive and you don’t always succeed.

      Overall, I think the positives win out!

    • Photo: Graeme Dykes

      Graeme Dykes answered on 11 Mar 2023:

      The positives are many and depend on what sort of scientist you become.
      To start with, in research, you may be making something that the world has never seen before.
      In manufacturing, you might be helping to ensure that products are safe and effective.
      You will always be adding to the store of knowledge of the World.
      Your hard work will be recognised by degree certificates and prizes, not to mention joining an international community.

      There are also negatives. Public trust and understanding of science are never as good as they should be. You may be considered part of an elite gang. You may be bundled together in old-fashioned stereotypes. As your career progresses, you may find that you do more management and less science.

    • Photo: Jo Ellis

      Jo Ellis answered on 11 Mar 2023:

      As with most things work can be a mix of ups and downs, but for me the positive work I do outweighs the less positive, that means it rewarding. Ive found my scientific career incredibly varied and interesting thats why i still love chemistry after all these years

    • Photo: Ebele Ezeadi

      Ebele Ezeadi answered on 12 Mar 2023:

      Positives are that every day is interesting as it brings up new challenges. Negatives are that it can be frustrating in research where you don’t seem to be making any progress and trying to get an experiment to work. However, when you get that break through moment, there is no other feeling like it! Another negative is that you go into science for the love of it, as you’re not going to get rich quick.

    • Photo: Rebecca Woods

      Rebecca Woods answered on 13 Mar 2023:

      It really depends on what your job is as there’s so many different jobs in science.
      From a research based job the positives are the enjoyment from finding the answers to problems, experiments working, getting to travel to go to conferences and hear really cool research. Some of the negatives include experiments not working which can be dissapointing and sometimes science can just be gross, certain chemicals STINK (thiols smell like overcooked rotten sprouts, amines smell like bad fish).

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