Question: would you focus on earning yourself more money or actually helping people?

Lyndsey Fox answered on 14 Jun 2011:

To do both would be great!
But If I had to choose then helping people of course. The sad thing about being a scientist is that often we don’t get paid very much at all.
I was offered a job with an oil company which paid 3 times more than my PhD grant but I turned it down to do research. I think it’s so important to keep asking questions and trying to further scientific understanding. I’m trying to solve a tiny part of a massive puzzle so my contribution to science is unlikely to help people on it’s own . But by collaborating with other geologist/scientists we can add it all up to create a big picture about how the earth used to be, how it has changed and how it will change in future and perhaps eventually influence government policy.

I would definately like more money (who wouldn’t?!) but it’s not what motivates me to do my research. I do it because I love it!