-
Asked by lizzieroberts23 to Fiona, Aled, Ellie, Kev, Willem on 7 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by buffy5801, .
-
Fiona Heesen answered on 7 Mar 2014:
Hi lizzieroberts23,
Being a scientist is really fun! It can be really different depending on what you focus on, so a chemist might spend lots of time in a lab mixing different solutions, whereas a biologist might spend more time outside, looking at plants and animals in their natural habitat. Generally, as a scientist I have the chance to spend my time learning new and exciting things and talking to all my friends and co-workers about the exciting things they are learning. I think that is what makes being a scientist so fun, it is always different and it is always new – I often think I have read everything I could about a subject (like the Internet!) only to find out that all new things are being discovered across the world – it constantly challenges you to do more and learn more.
Thanks for your question 🙂
– Fiona
-
-
Willem Heijltjes answered on 10 Mar 2014:
Hi Lizzie!
Science is really a lot of fun – you get to think up new things, and then travel the world to explain them to other people! Or in this case, to you guys! 😉
-
Kevin Arbuckle answered on 10 Mar 2014:
Being a scientist is being paid to find out about stuff that interests you (whatever that stuff may be). What can possibly be more fun than that? A job doesn’t really seem like a job when you enjoy what you do, so it’s really like getting money to have fun and telling lots of other people about it too 🙂
-
Eleanor Parker answered on 10 Mar 2014:
I love being a scientist! It can be a lot of fun. Everyday is different and because there are so many things to discover, whatever field of science you work in, there is always something new to do or new ways of doing things. Being a scientists also means you get to talk to a lot of people and you get to travel a lot. It’s like a big community!
-
Aled Roberts answered on 11 Mar 2014:
Hi lizzieroberts23!
It is the most fun job in the entire world! I get paid to do what I love! Every day I go to work not fully knowing what I’m going to find out! Each day there is mystery!
🙂
Comments
lizzieroberts23 commented on :
WOW!!! Being a scientist sounds really fun!! Especially travelling the world and getting paid to d what u love!! What Specialty in Science do u all study or work in?
Fiona commented on :
I lizzieroberts23,
My specialty or discipline is human geography – I spend my days thinking about the relationship between place and people – how people interact and live within their communities or cities. It is really fun 🙂 I get to spend a lot of time outside of the office, learning about different cultures, work habits, and best of all, I get to speak to loads of people!
Kev commented on :
It really is – I wouldn’t swap science for any other type of job in the world 🙂
I study a lot of different things, but I consider myself an evolutionary biologist. I mostly use evolutionary trees (also called phylogenies, kind of like family trees with different species instead of family members) to find out how behaviours or colour patterns or many other things evolve.
For example, I found out last year that in a group of mammals called ‘musteloids’ (which includes things like skunks, badgers, otters, and raccoons), the species that use stinky chemicals to defend themselves (like skunks) tend to eat more kinds of food and to be active both in the day and night. I think that this is because predators don’t like to eat them as much as something that can’t defend itself as well, so the skunks don’t have to hide from predators as much. This means that they can be active more often and generally make better use of the foods and other resources that are available. I also found out that only species of musteloid that have stinky chemicals have contrasting black and white marks, so they probably only use these colour patterns to advertise their defences.
At the moment I’m doing some more complicated work that lets me ask if poisonous amphibians (e.g. frogs, toads and newts) evolve differently from non-poisonous ones. At least that’s the main thing I’m doing right at this moment, but I always have lots of projects going on.
Aled commented on :
HI again Lizzie!
I’m a microbiologist so I look at bacteria and viruses! My goal is to understand these little guys with the hope of stopping them from infecting people and making them sick! Most people have taken antibiotics at some point in their life to make them feel better but the number of antibiotics that work is decreasing! In 10-15 years we might not have any!!!!!!!!!!! My job is to try and find new ones so that we can live nice, long, and healthy lives!
I get to show my results to people all around the world and in the short space of time I have been researching I’ve been to Boston and Miami in the USA, Sweden, France, Italy, and all over the UK doing talks and presentations! 🙂
lizzieroberts23 commented on :
All your jobs sound really fun and it sounds like you learn loads in just days!!I don’t know what id do without antibiotics when i don’t feel very well and I not sure how other people could cope without any either!! When u travel the world and show people what you have discovered, do u go alone or with a group of people? Thank you all so much for the answers u have given me!! Before this I didn’t really know much about being a scientist and now I know loads!! Thanks!!
Kev commented on :
Glad you feel you are really getting something from I’m a Scientist, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head on an important part of the competition. Many people don’t really know much about scientists (even if they know a lot about science), so it’s nice to be able to destroy the image many people have of stuffy old men secretly working away in a scary lab.
Anyway, as far as travelling alone or with others goes, it just depends. If it is a big conference I am going to and one that other people in my department (or that I know) are interested in going too, then we might go as a group. But often I will go to conferences on my own too. The nice thing is that you often meet people there. My first international conference was a big evolution one in Ottawa (Canada), and that conference is held every year in different places. I know meet people over in America at that conference that I met in Ottawa and can enjoy catching up with the new friends I’ve made as a result. I hope that’s answered your question (even if it’s a bit of every possible answer!)
lizzieroberts23 commented on :
haha thanks yes that has answered my question!! So u meet people from all different countries, who speak different languages!! That sounds really fun!