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Asked by HugoBOSS to Amy, Craig, Laura, Partha, Saffron on 23 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by Ganty_27.
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Craig Doig answered on 23 Jun 2015:
Trying to keep my job … Most jobs are permanent which means you don’t have to worry about losing your job.
However, every few years I have to convince people to keep paying me to do my job. If I don’t then I can’t do science anymore !
Thats the hardest part about being a scientist.
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Laura Wales answered on 23 Jun 2015:
I think it depends on what kind of science job it is.
As Craig mentioned, being in research can be difficult as scientists are recruited to do research on a project. Once you’ve finished that project, there is no guarantee that there will be money for another project. Often, different scientists in different places apply for funding for the same project and it can only go to one place (unless they are working together).
In lab jobs in hospitals I wouldn’t say there is anything particularly difficult, it’s more about being organised, working in a strategic way, and keeping knowledge and training up-to-date. It can be quite a high pressured job because of the massive number of samples to test and the time we are given to get results out.
In my current job, the thing I find most difficult (yet most rewarding) is working with patients who are freezing sperm. Some of them are very ill and some are very young and I find it hard not to become emotionally attached, especially when the partner, wife or parent is upset.
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Saffron Whitehead answered on 23 Jun 2015:
Well I was very lucky. Straight from my PhD I landed a permanent job as a lecturer but that was in 1975 when things were a lots easier. I did though have 3 months probation.
Throughout my career I think the most difficult thing was to find funding for my research and writing lengthy grant applications. At fist it was easy and money flowed quite nicely then it became harder and harder. Now less that about 15% of applications are awarded funds so it is much more difficult for the younger generation in academia. -
Amy Cameron answered on 1 Jul 2015:
As Craig says – keeping myself in a job and as Saffron says – getting funding. Also getting published is getting harder too.
The lack,of job security sees a lot of people leave academia for something else which is more permanent – teaching, industry, science writing or something completely different (people I know have gone into the police, banking, sports training).
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