• Question: how is it like being a scientist

    Asked by fast1jete on 20 Sep 2025.
    • Photo: Henson Lee Yu

      Henson Lee Yu answered on 20 Sep 2025:

      it’s different every day, so that makes the job fun and exciting. sometimes i’m doing experiments in the lab, sometimes i’m doing data analysis in the computer, or reading some of the work that other scientists have done for inspiration or to learn more about the experiments i’m doing, or other times i’m writing so others will know and benefit from the work we’re doing.

      So we do different things at each phase and always with a team of brilliant minds. but we also have break times where we also hang out with friends, grab some food and drinks, and also do our own hobbies.. 🙂

    • Photo: Pete Webb

      Pete Webb answered on 21 Sep 2025:

      It’s simply excellent being a scientist. There’s always something new to look at or to investigate and something new to learn. In my life as a Geologist and part of a team, I’ve discovered oil, gas and mineral deposits and taught young people in several countries how to become a professional Geologist and serve their country as best they can.

    • Photo: David Cussans

      David Cussans answered on 21 Sep 2025:

      Life for a scientist varies a lot from scientist to scientist. What I do is almost more like engineering rather than Physics – I design bits of electronics and software to get the signals from the detector into the computer systems that store the data. About 3/4 of the time I am in my office or the lab every day. About 1/4 of the time I am away from the University at a conference or at a laboratory like CERN running tests on prototype detectors.

    • Photo: Will Breeze

      Will Breeze answered on 22 Sep 2025:

      How it looks like, or feels like to be a scientist will vary a lot depending on who you ask. Science covers a wide range of activities, jobs, and topics. That’s why you often get a large and diverse crowd when you get any number of scientists together.

      So in answer to your question, I would say that in my experience of working with lots of different scientists what we tend to have in common is:

      Interesting- we all are attracted to science to do something that lets us learn and experience new things.

      Rewarding- we all like to feel that we are producing something that matters even if its in a small way.

      Challenging- Scientists like to solve puzzles and enjoy difficult problems.

      Collaborative- I think we all like to talk about our work. For a lot of scientists we like the sharing and explaining parts of the job best. Being part of a good team is a big plus for us.

      Unique or odd- sometimes you can be one of only a few people in the whole world who does a specific thing.

      This isn’t a complete picture but I think these are the most common things a scientist would say about what they do.

    • Photo: Ieva Jankute

      Ieva Jankute answered on 22 Sep 2025:

      Being a scientist feels like I am forever a student and learning something new every day. All the research is trying something new and learning from the results, which is what makes being a scientist so exciting!

    • Photo: Amal Lavender

      Amal Lavender answered on 23 Sep 2025:

      its what you make of it 🙂 its such a broad area to develop your career into – technical, management, project based, many year discovery etc!

Comments

  • Photo: Martin McMahon

    Martin McMahon commented on :

    Being a scientist is like being an explorer. If you keep looking in new directions, you’ll always eventually find or discover something new. Don’t be afraid to explore!