• Question: do face any problems when your a scientist

    Asked by jjfarooq to Dalya, Derek, Sarah, Tim, Tom on 19 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Tim Millar

      Tim Millar answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Just the usual problems of family life that any none scientist would have. Just because I wear a lab coat doesn’t mean it protects like a shiled of steel against the outside world.

      At least people don’t taunt me in the street (not yet anyway)

    • Photo: Dalya Soond

      Dalya Soond answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      of course, everyone has problems both inside work and outside.
      Inside work, I feel I never have enough time to do all the things I need to or want to do. My experiments often don’t work or don’t work out the way I want them to. We don’t always have as much money as we want for experiments even though my lab is well funded. And I spend far too much of my time on administrative work.

    • Photo: Sarah Thomas

      Sarah Thomas answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I think my main problem is that I constantly feel like I am running out of time! Every day it feels like I have so much work to do, and I rush around most of the day trying to get things done. Maybe it’s my time management skills, or me putting too much pressure on myself to get results as well as juggling everything else.

    • Photo: Derek McKay-Bukowski

      Derek McKay-Bukowski answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Sure. All scientists have the usual problems, worries and challenges that most people face. We’re no different in that we all have bills to pay, and so on.

      Getting the balance right between home-life and work-life is difficult. Because we usually enjoy our jobs, it is easy to forget and just keep working. There is certainly a lot of travel. I spend months away from home and often I find that home can feel a bit odd or strange after I’ve been away. Perhaps I travel more than the others. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the travel and certainly I get to have lots of adventures, but it can also be tiring at times.

      In work, the usual problem is time. There is never enough. There is sooooo much to do, that it can be overwhelming. You are also often on your own. I don’t mean that I’m working alone (although sometimes I am). What I mean is that it is up to *me* to figure something out and if I can’t, well then I’m just stuck. There can sometimes be a lot of pressure. Especially when others are relying on you to get something done.

    • Photo: Tom Crick

      Tom Crick answered on 19 Jun 2011:

      Work/life balance can be hard sometimes — and this is usually my own fault — but find it quite hard to leave work and relax. There’s always something to do!

      Also, not having enough funding/resources/time to do the things I want to do.

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