I’m a Scientist is like school science lessons meet the X Factor! School students choose which scientist gets a prize of $1000 to communicate their work.
Scientists and students talk on this website. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn. But only the students get to vote.
This zone is the Disease Zone. It has scientists studying the causes and processes of illness . Who gets the prize? YOU decide!
Scientist has the privilege to knock the door of the science world. The world of science is so mysterious, beyond our imagination. I think scientist is like the Alice in Wonderland. Everybody can be scientist if he/she has curiosity over the things around us.
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The best thing about being a scientist is that I get to ask and answer questions all day! Basically, I get paid to be nosy 🙂 Anyone who wonders how things work, or why things are the way they are and constantly asks questions (often to the point of annoying others!) would make a great scientist. It doesnt necessarily take the greatest marks at school…all it takes is a great curiosity in the world around you!
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Many answers to this question will focus on what we do, and I’ve even answered this question the same way. What’s the best thing about being a scientist? Well, it’s that we get to ask questions! We get to make a contribution to human knowledge! And I would agree with those answers; I should, because if you look at my profile and other things I’ve written, you’ll see that I’ve said the same things myself.
But this time, I’d like to answer the question a little more personally, and talk about *who* we do science with, and why that’s one of the best things about being a scientist. When I was in school I was just like any other kid until I hit junior high school (grade 7). I’m sure that many of you know what happens around this time: everyone starts sorting themselves out into groups, and the group you belong to suddenly becomes very important. When the dust settled, though, I didn’t have much of a group. I was never a popular kid, and my focus on academics and my general geekiness left me very much an outsider; I had some friends, but I was always a little lonely. This only got worse as I made my way through junior high into high school (grades 10-12), where I found myself increasingly isolated. Part of that is my own fault, of course, as I responded to my situation by withdrawing; I was always awkward, and this didn’t help. But the fact is that I stood out, and standing out isn’t a great way to fit in.
Yet, as bad as this made school for me, when I hit university and started finding people who thought the same way that I did, things began to change for me. And when I completed my undergraduate degree and began attending graduate school, I found that in science, I had discovered a place where people valued the sorts of things I’d always had: a fascination with how the world works, a sense of humour that revolved around geeky things, and so on. Science is full of people from all groups. It breaks through the barriers between us and gives us something to work on as a community; we laugh together, think together, cry together. We talk about important things, we fight about them, we tear each other down to build each other back up. No life is perfect, and science has as many bad apples as you’ll find anywhere else, but the process of doing science gives us a way to come together and have fun while answering those questions that are so important.
And now that I’ve completed my Ph.D. and started my career as a scientist, this effect has only grown stronger. I’ve met smart people from all the world that I’m proud to call a friend, who I would have never known otherwise. I work on projects with people from other parts of Australia and from countries all over the world (Canada, the US, the UK, Germany, etc). And to mangle a phrase from a very worthy cause, ‘it got better’. I fit with these people. They make me feel welcome, even when they’re arguing with me. 🙂
So there it is: one of the best things about being a scientist is the people you get to be a scientist *with*!
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There’s lots of great things about being a scientist!
Every day, we get to work on projects in an area that we are really interested in, trying to find out as much as possible about how things work, or how we can make them work better. Everything can be looked at by science, like how a tiny virus can make you sick, how the universe began, how you can make a bike go faster, or how to make chocolate taste better! We get to work with interesting people who want to look at the same things as we do, and because science attracts all kinds of people and personalities, you get to meet a lot of cool people. Sometimes you even get to travel to learn or teach. But the best thing about being a scientist is knowing that one day, the work that I am doing might help people.
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I think it’s different for all of us, but for me it’s the type of work (a nice mix of computer work, lab work, conferences, meetings, teaching new students etc) and the flexibility. So, for my work I don’t have to be in at 8:30am and leave at 5pm, I can come in later or earlier and leave earlier or later. My boss isn’t very strict about hours, as long as we get the work done.
It’s a very relaxed work environment for me!
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