• Question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how enjoyable is your work?

    Asked by anon-292585 to Rosie on 20 Apr 2021.
    • Photo: Rosie Goodburn

      Rosie Goodburn answered on 20 Apr 2021:

      As I’ve progressed through my education and career, I’ve found I’ve really enjoyed problem-solving, and even when the problem is hard or takes a long time, the knowledge that I’ve seen something through to the end (as much as you can call something an end in science) is very satisfying to look back on. The big picture of my project keeps me motivated because I know I’m working towards something that will make a positive impact on the world.
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      I do also enjoy the nitty-gritty of my work as well as the people-orientated aspects like talking to other scientists about their work.
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      Not every day is fun, fun, fun – sometimes it’s stressful to get things done to deadlines and when things don’t go to plan or stop working properly.
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      If I were to give it a number, it would be quite high overall – a good solid 8 🙂

Comments

  • Photo: Chiara

    Chiara commented on :

    Hi Liam, for me..9!! Of course there are up and downs, but I generally really enjoy what I am doing now. I love being able to think about problems and how to practically solve them. Then you discover that when you think you have finally found the answer to your question, thousands of new questions come up! It is like a never ending cycle of questions/problems and answers, but you continuously learn and discover something new.
    I particularly love the discovery process: you cannot imagine the joy of discovering something or seeing that the experiments you made up from scratches have worked!
    As Rosie, I also enjoy talking with other scientists: they will always give you materials for new ideas or help you in solving your problems.

  • Photo: Steve

    Steve commented on :

    Like most jobs, some days are a 10 (great data, doing a good talk), some days are a 5 (equipment breaking, cells dying!). On average I’d say a solid 8 or 9.

    The thing is that I’ve found now I’ve had lots of experience, is that sometimes the days which are a 5 turn out to lead to a 9 day in the end. An experiment that doesn’t do what you thought, later turns out to be the key experiment showing you something new. Sometimes a paper getting turned down leads to you doing a new experiment which gives some great new idea!

    It’s a tired saying, but sometimes something you’ve had to work hard for gives you a much better feeling when you achieve it!

  • Photo: Ed

    Ed commented on :

    It depends of the scale.

    If 10 is the best, and 1 is the worst I’d say 10.
    If 1 is the best, and 10 is the worst I’d say 1.

    I’m doing a PhD where all the work I do is my own, and I have a really great group to help me.

  • Photo: Michael

    Michael commented on :

    It’s so diverse, and changes all the time. Some days everything works and thats a 10, other days maybe one or two things don’t work and that drops it down to a 6-7. And then there are days with writing and paperwork, and it drops to a 4. I think it does average at about a 8.